A/N May 27, 2005: "Back again, reader?" Dumbledore aproaches slowly as the reader backs away.

Voldemort pops in next to Dumbledore and laughs at the terrified reader. "There are no long and short chapters, there is only reading. Join me!"

The sorting hat cannot stand staying quiet any longer. "You could be happy, you know. It's all here in the story, and reading it will help you on the way to happiness. There's not doubt about that. No? Well, if you're sure..."

Well, after spending last Saturday writing a chapter where somebody dies (you'll never guess who, so don't even try), I've been able to find the time this weekend to write this chapter. No deaths this week, but who knows about the next one, or the one after that. Enjoy.

DarkLordLongbottom: Reviewer's response in my profile page.

Turning Your Time Around
By: Cheelalaucha

Chapter dedicated to: Every single person who has been involved in a war for liberty & justice.

Chapter 19: "Merlin's March"

After a second of just standing still, the three blue, see-through wizards reluctantly followed Merlin, each wondering how they were going to make it out of this tight spot.

The grass crumpled under their feet as they walked to the old castle. The sun was up and shining brightly but only one person in the group was happy about it. What were they supposed to do now? Neville tried his best to think everything through in his mind.

Okay. Merlin's the bad guy. Nobody knows what Dumbledore is. Ron's acting strange and he knew to follow along with the fake story. Snape's just as nasty as ever, but he did warn us, sort of. That just leaves me then. I'm stuck in the past, going crazy, sleeping for days on end, and I'm a blue ghost-thing in some far out realm with a weirdo. Well, at least there's no Potions classes here.

With a sigh Neville lifted his head to see the giant gardens surrounding the front of the castle. There were magical plants all grouped together by color. Nearly every color group was arranged into the shape of pointy hearts. That was fairly interesting and was able to keep Neville from dwelling on the present situation he and two others were placed in.

On his left, Ron watched his fellow Gryffindor out of the corner of his eye. There were some differences, of course, but the longer hair was only one of them. The way Neville'd been talking earlier, it seemed as if he was less shy, and the common stuttering he used to have was just about completely gone. What was really puzzling him though was the fact that Neville had lied to Merlin about those drinks they'd so kindly been offered. Since when could Neville Longbottom tell a lie? The thought was almost enough to make him laugh, but he realized with a surge of weariness that this was no laughing matter. Wow, where had that smart-sounding thought come from? Maybe he was changing too. Or, perhaps, he was just spending too much time with Hermione. Yeah, that was it.

Severus Snape walked behind the others, his eyes darting from one moving thing to another as he watched for any sign of movement. They'd nearly been potioned earlier, he wasn't about to let something like that happen again. His eyes were alert, but his brain was working on other things slowly and carefully. There was something going on with the Longbottom child. Snape was ready to bet his life on the fact that Neville knew what was in Merlin's food offering, and that was something he never thought he'd live to do.

Just before the Weasley tried to get at him, Severus had seen the boy give his own drink a quick study. The boy must have known what was placed with the beverage because he did not drink it when he could have. It did make sense, Snape supposed, since the Gryffindor had been forced to drink it in one of his detentions as a punishment for exploding another cauldron. The memory and taste would have no doubt left his brain from those times, for Snape was sure the child had been scared out of his wits when he (Snape) had told him to "Get rid of the mess without cleaning it up." He and few did know that there had been one other occasion in which Longbottom was made to drink the foul liquid, but Severus was not about to remember those days again. Not a chance in all the Vision Realm did he want one thought from those times.

As all four of the people reached the entrance to the castle, Merlin stopped and held out a hand. He raised his staff and made a small waving motion in front of his face. At once the group disappeared behind the gray walls.

Without feeling a thing, they popped into a large empty room with only one window in the far right wall. The place was lit brightly but did not come off as very inviting to any of them. Of course, it could be the fact that they were in their enemy's castle that brought their spirits down. None of them seemed to notice that they were no longer see-through.

"Well, I shall leave you all to chat. Dinner will done cooking in a few minutes, and when it is I will call for someone to bring you along." With a tiny wave, Merlin departed through the door.

Ron turned to Neville to ask what he truly thought of Merlin, but was stopped short by the frightened expression his friend had. "What's wrong?" he asked.

Neville walked quickly to the window and peered outside, but he didn't stay there for long. Neville examined the whole room carefully as he ran his hands over the stone. It had to be here somewhere, he was sure this was the exact room. The description from Rotiart matched exactly! So where the heck was the stupid hatch! Before he could look any further, there was a light knock on the door. Without waiting for a response, the person on the other side came through and shut the door behind themselves. Neville spun around to face the person, expecting it to be Merlin again. His jaw dropped when he saw who it really was.

"Esor!" Neville yelled in surprise.

The woman in the red dress ran over to him and gave him a tight hug which they staid in for several moments. Esor held him at arm's length to look over him for injuries. She sighed in relief and gave him another hug.

"I'm so glad you're alright, I thought he'd kill you!" At Neville's perplexed expression, she continued. "He tried to make you forget everything, did he not?" Neville nodded. "He knows, Neville. You've got to get out of here!"

"Would somebody please tell me what in the name of.. whatever is going on!" Ron yelled in exasperation. That was just the thing Snape wanted to know aswell.

"No time. We've-" Neville was cut short by the door creaking open slowly. It was an eerie kind of noise that seemed to seal the fate of them all. There was not a person in that room who didn't at least want to shiver at the sound.

Merlin wandered in from outside the room and glanced around at them all with a face that shown a mixture of happiness and irritation. There was not a doubt in anyone's mind that this guy was out to get them, but still, no one moved the slightest. Merlin cleared his throat and said, "I do believe dinner is being served. Esor, I thought you were here to tell them that." Merlin watched her as she made a little bow and apologized. Merlin replied that she was forgiven and looked for a new someone to question. His eyes stopped on Neville. "Longbottom number two, please come with me for moment." The sentence was said gently but made no mistake in making the younger one afraid.

Neville walked behind Merlin outside the door and heard it snap shut. Merlin gave him, what seemed like, a warm smile. But, it faded quickly into one of anger. "What have you been saying about me, Nelvermanst Brooker Longbottom?"

Neville stiffened and actually glared at the wizard before him. No one, but no one called him Nelvermanst. "That is not my name," he told Merlin defiantly. Okay, so it was, but it was a family name - how was he supposed to change it!

"Oh I believe it is," Merlin returned with a step forward. Neville backed up a small bit, but his glare staid put.

"It would do well to trust me. Now, bring out your friends and we will have supper. Now. Oh, and be careful boy. The walls have ears, you know." Merlin walked off down the hall to the right and Neville took a second to curse the man's name and then slammed the door open to see its occupants. Without even an apology for startling them, Neville growled, "Dinner. Now." He turned and followed the way Merlin had gone.

In his own mind he smiled at his newly acquired acting skills and promised himself that he would consider being an entertaining wizard. Naw, that wasn't his lifestyle.. was it?

No.

Neville reassured himself. Oh well, he'd considered it.

-

All were seated in the nicely decorated dinning hall. Each person had thoughts running rampant in their minds but none spoke. There were plates of food before them, and each one was loaded to the point of a spill-over onto the table. The five people eating (Merlin, Esor, Neville, Ron, Snape) were sitting still, some chewing food they hoped was not potioned.

"I take it you have come up with a way to get Longbottom number two back to his rightful year?" Merlin queried.

"Yes," Snape snapped in reply. Glancing over at Neville, Snape saw that he was being stared at by the Gryffindor. "Surprised, Mr. Longbottom?" he sneered.

A question that might have frightened him before no longer would. Nope, not scary at all, not even the slightest. Snape was watching him with a very fierce glare, but the boy didn't move except to blink boredly back at him. With a huff, Snape returned to his meal. Merlin took the long silence as his chance to earn back some trust.

"So," Merlin began with a smile at Neville. "Have you made any new friends?"

Neville resisted the urge to look over at Esor and replied flatly, "No."

"Hm, I see. It's alright to talk to some people, you know," Merlin told him helpfully.

"I'm afraid that I will change things, and if something important is altered, who knows what may happen to our future selves." That had to be the most intelligent sentence Neville had ever spoke, and two certain people definitely noticed it.

Merlin laughed and said, "Yes, you are right. After all, you never know what people remember. If you made friends with someone who turns out to be an enemy in the future, they might think you on their side. But I'll tell you one thing, no matter what side you're on: The side you chose is the side you stay with."

No one knew at that moment how true his words were; not the bits about choosing sides, but what he said about people remembering. Some do not think clearly about consequences to actions whether they be good or bad. Voldemort might be one of those people. It was possible Albus Dumbledore was one of those people. But, it would be justified by countless wizards and witches to come that Neville Longbottom is one of those people.

All but one other choked on their food not three seconds after the last statement was made by Merlin, and that was only because Snape had enough sense to not give himself away so easily. He pretended to be as unknowing as Merlin.
As for everyone else, they just stared in shock at Merlin. All of them had heard that one line before. Ron and Snape recalled it from Hogwarts' Defense professor who said it nearly every day. Esor knew it from a specific madman that was trying to get a hold on Neville. And Neville himself knew the phrase from the warning Esor had given him days before. Could this just be a coincidence? Yeah right, and maybe Percy Weasley will come home for Christmas.

"What?" Merlin asked the group with an eyebrow raised.

Oh darn, what do I do? Keep coughing- draw the attention to yourself and then everyone forgets. Good idea, okay heretgoes.

Neville put a hand over his mouth and kept up the coughing fit, which in turn made the blond-haired woman get up from her seat and pat him on the back. For another minute, he continued, but finally stopped since it wouldn't be convincing if he was still gagging two hours from now.

"Are you alright dear boy?" Merlin asked him in a concerned tone, and also came over.

"I think-I need-to lay-down," Neville replied between gasps of breath, standing shakily from his seat.

"Here." Merlin offered him his hand and helped him walk to the door. When they were out of the room, Merlin asked, "Did I do something wrong in there?"

Neville shook his head as an answer but kept his gaze down at the stone they walked upon. Neville followed Merlin for what seemed like a much longer distance than it had been to get to dinner. In fact, the halls were nothing like he remembered (but you know Neville). The faint sound of music playing reached his ears and he looked up to find they had wondered into a large room with a huge bed in the far corner.

The purple coverings of the bed were puffy and soft to the touch as he climbed in, as Merlin had told him to do. The tune of then music was very familiar, though Neville could not figure out where from.

"What is that? I know I've heard it before." Neville asked as Merlin sat down on the bed.

"The music?" At Neville's nod, he smiled. "That is something I do not tell very many, but I guess it's fine if you know." Merlin made himself comfortable on the bedside and began his story. "A while back, when I was still young, I was searching for a way to block out unwanted people from my home. I wasn't having much luck, and I'd nearly given up hope when a young wizard asked me if I need an assistant in my research. I agreed but only because the dratted boy would not leave me alone. Well, in less than a month, we came up with a way to fully block who and what I did not want in my castle. I introduced this boy to my friends and he gradually became more popular here.

"He offered to help me in anything else I wanted to experiment with. We continued, success after success, month after month, year after year. That boy was in my company from noon 'till night. We talked, experimented, and played chess together all the time. As a Christmas present he wrote me a poem, Merlin's March. I told him he needed to put it to music and together that's what we did. That was the most fun I've ever had with that wizard. The song was heard by my friends and someone leaked it into Wizarding England. Soon, it was being sang everywhere. That died down eventually but I never stopped playing it in my home." Merlin finished with a smile. That smile turned into a frown when Neville asked his next question.

"What happened to him? The wizard, I mean."

Merlin sighed and replied, "One of our experiments went totally wrong. By this time, it had been seven years and that young wizard I knew was now twenty. We needed to test a potion that was meant to calm people, and he volunteered. I should not have let him." Merlin looked away to the plain wall and sighed. He went on, though. "It did just the opposite of what we expected. After he took the potion he became extremely jumpy and frantic to get out of the castle - said it was too small and he couldn't breathe properly. That alone was very alarming but I could not even prepare myself for what happened afterwards."

Neville, not wanting Merlin to get upset, just sat and waited for him to continue. He did after a long while, but not being upset was a lost cause.

"He went to his parent's home the next day and murdered them in their sleep. I found him there and I... sent him away where he could not harm anyone else. I've never forgiven myself for letting him test that potion." After that, Merlin went quiet and Neville found it might be time to speak up.

"I'm sorry," Neville murmured.

"It's not your fault," Merlin replied bitterly.

"It's not yours either," Neville returned honestly.

Merlin gave a disbelieving huff and said, "It was my fault and mine alone. I should have taken it- I was the older and wiser and it is my duty to protect those around me." Through the course of his words, he gradually increased the volume of his voice, and had turned to see Neville again.

Pushing himself into a sitting position, Neville had a determined look on his face. When he spoke, his voice did the same as Merlin's had done (went up). "Did you know what would have happened if you had gone mad instead of him? You'dve killed him and then you both would be dead! I wouldn't be talking to you now if you'd taken that stupid potion! And believe me, I would have lost my mind if I didn't know what to do back at Hogwarts!"

Merlin stared at him very intently, studying his face, and apparently, his words also. He stood up and said in a hard tone, "Get some rest. I'll tell the others not to worry." With that, he took his leave of Neville and the room.

Neville relaxed down into the pillow once more and closed his eyes. He was not sure if he should be comforted or creeped out by the music playing, but Neville did fall asleep soon after.

-

Neville could hear someone in the distance calling his name but he did not want to respond. He turned over on his side and gave a groan when his back twinged with pain. Oh wonderful, his back was hurting again. That was all he needed. Again he was called, and again he ignored it.

"Go away," Neville grumbled and brought the blanket over his head. But, as he did so, he realized that it was not the same. This blanket was flat and scratchy. It almost was the same as the ones in the...

Neville opened his eyes at once and sat bolt upright in the bed.

...Hospital Wing of Hogwarts.

"Neville!" someone yelled in surprise.

Looking to his left, Neville saw Lily, who smiled.

"Are yeh alrigh' there Nev?" a gruff voice asked from his other side. Neville looked to his other side. The younger Hagrid was standing, high and mighty, gazing down at him with a kind expression. Instead of answering, Neville threw off the coverings and got up from the bed. He walked as fast as he could to Esor's painting, Lily and Hagrid following close behind.

"Neville, what's going on?" Lily asked him, though he did not respond.

"Neville!" Esor yelled when he reached her painting. She stood and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Esor, what happened? One minute-"

She cut him off. "I know, now look, you've got to listen to me. Go to the second floor, stand directly in front of the painting of the three crows, cast a containment spell, and wait for the portal to come." As she was talking, she was gazing upward and counting everything off as she said it. Neville stood there for only a second longer to try and figure out what in all the world was going on. "Whew, got it all. Well? Go! Don't just stand there!"

Neville jumped in surprise but went to do what he was told. Again the others followed, but not one of them knew what was happening.

Neville's last thought in the 1974 Hogwarts Hospital Wing was:

She yelled at me!

-

A/N: I came across something I think needs to be clarified. Both Snape and Ron know of Merlin bein' a bad guy; Ron mostly because he doesn't think the Headmaster is against them (as Merlin claimed). He trusts Dumbledore a lot more now after that little "crying session". I don't know if that was messing with anyone's brain, but it was with mine.

And now, if you thought Merlin was the bad guy, I've put some doubts in your head (he was bein' a good little Merlin talking to Nev)! Hum, he could be either good or bad, good & bad, or just somewhere in the middle.

Oh, and if you thought Merlin's assistant was Lily's dad, I'm sorry to disappoint: he's not. If you have no idea why I might have just said that, go back and read chapter 3 where I first mentioned the song! Sheeze... Mhhmm... can I get a review? Was something wrong in the chapter? Was there something you didn't expect? Did you hate the middle name I chose for Nev? Were you confused? Did you not notice this was probably one of Nev's last days in 1974? Did you think he might not make it back at all? Did you know that I came up with the cliffhanger for the end of the story?

A tiny preview of an upcoming chapter (not the next one, sorry; the next one will be great, though!)...

Several of the girls gasped and most of the guys looked about ready to murder the man (even more-so then before). Neville coughed and rubbed his neck, raising from the floor slowly. Now that had hurt a bit! Should he continue? Well, he was this far - he mind as well. He risked another sentence. "What happened to her?"

"None of your business!" the other retorted loudly.