Summary: It's not every day that someone discovers a new corridor in Hogwarts. When Harry does, he lets his curiosity get the best of him winds up in a lot of trouble, not to mention another time. Can he survive attending Hogwarts in the year 1942 with a sixteen year old Tom Riddle? And how will this encounter change the fates of both boys? HP/TR SLASH

Disclaimer: Sadly enough, I do not own Harry Potter or anything even remotely affiliated with it.


CHAPTER FOUR: TIMES CHANGE, PEOPLE CHANGE

--(A/N: This chapter is from Dumbledore's point of view.)--

I watch placidly as the boy in front of me, fallen out of a mirror from a future time (only at Hogwarts could such a thing happen), digests the fact that I have no clue as to how I can help him return to the time that he is supposed to be in. But perhaps that is the key.

Perhaps this boy--Harry Potter as he calls himself--is meant to be here. Hogwarts works in mysterious ways and has many times managed to meddle in the affairs of the wizards who dwell in it. It makes me wonder if, perhaps, the sorting hat isn't the only inanimate object that the founders enchanted to have a mind of its own.

I am bemused by the thought and a small, quirky smile makes its way onto my aging features, though it quickly disappears as I watch Harry clench the arms of his chair until his knuckles turn white in apparent frustration. He lets out a loud, irritated sigh that comes out almost as a silent scream before proceeding to let his head drop forcefully onto the back of his chair. Closing his eyes he takes a few deep, calming breaths before he sits up, eyes open, and seemingly back in control of himself and his composure.

He looks me square in the eye, not bothering to be intimidated by the fact that I am an older, well admired wizard and a professor at this school. I respect him for it. "What exactly do you propose I do?" he asks of me then, coming straight to the heart of the matter.

Although I have no idea how on earth to get him home, I do have an idea of what he can do in the mean time. "Why, you are going to enroll as a student, of course," I answer enthusiastically and with more than a slight bit of amusement. Of course, it isn't nearly as simple as I would make it sound, but it is the general gist of my plan.

I was hoping for some sort of reaction from the boy, whatever it may be, but he merely sits there expectantly as if waiting for the othershoe to drop. "Let's see…we must come up with a plausible reason why you would be starting here at your age and part way through the school year…and you shall have to be sorted…and of course there's the--wait, what year are you supposed to be in?" I think out loud to him as my plan starts to come together.

"I was in sixth year," he replies automatically before his face is creased by a slight frown and he goes on, "What do you mean I have to be sorted?" Ah, so that's what's troubling him.

"Don't worry, my boy. You must, naturally, be sorted again to go along with the story as to why you are here. We wouldn't want anyone getting suspicious, now would we? I'm sure you'll end up in the same house you were in before. Don't forget, though, that things might not be the same, even with that which you would assume would be unchanged by the passage of time," I inform him wisely (if I do say so myself), before adding, "And Mr. Riddle, who accompanied you here is also in his sixth year, so at least you shall know someone."

Somehow he doesn't seem at all comforted by that fact, which I find somewhat odd. There is something about this boy that strikes me as…unique, special, magnificent…I don't know what it is, but it's there. There must be some reason why he is here, some purpose for this landmark event. But it does me no good to dwell on such things now when there is still so much that needs to be arranged.

Turning towards the young man in front of me I pause, wondering when would be the best time to introduce him to the rest of the students. Well, dinner was to be served in a little over an hour; I suppose that would be the best time to make the introductions, and then, of course, there was the sorting that would need to be done at the same time. But first, there was the matter of a plausible history for the boy to consider.

Of course, at the moment times are very dark. With Grindelwald at the height of his power and World War II raging, both the wizarding and muggle worlds are in a state of chaos and fear. It would be easy to explain Harry's absence from Hogwarts up to this point by saying that his family was forced into hiding, but then what would be the reasoning behind his appearance now? Perhaps his parents were killed and he had no where else to go...Merlin knows there are enough other students in that exact predicament. And that way if anyone asks him any questions that he does not know how to answer, he could simply say that it was too painful for him to talk about. Yes, that would have to do.

It didn't take long to explain my plan to Harry. We discussed what classes he had been taking before and other concerns such as making sure that he knows what the correct date is and other necessary things to make sure he can pass for a student of this time. He seemed to take everything in stride and knows enough about the war (from his History of Magic class no doubt) to be able to pass himself off as a current student fairly easily it would seem. His lack of knowledge on some accounts can be readily written off as his being out of touch with the wizarding world from his annexation. He is a smart boy, really, from what I can tell so far (and I'm a pretty good judge of such things if I do say so myself), so I am fairly confident in his ability to fit in without suspicion.

"Now there is just the minor problem of explaining this all to Headmaster Dippet," I informed 'Mr. Jameson,' as I would have to call him from now on. He nodded his understanding of the statement and we both stood from our chairs to head to the headmaster's office.

We didn't talk much along the way, though it was a companionable silence. I could tell that the boy was deep in thought--probably trying to engrain all of the new information he would need to remember into his mind--and so I tried not to disturb him. The portraits watched us as we walked along, whispering rather loudly amongst themselves about this "strange new arrival" to the castle, though Harry paid them no mind.

We soon arrived in front of the stone gargoyle guarding the way to the head's office and Harry immediately seemed to come back to his senses. It took me a moment to remember the password, Eunice Murray in honor of the seeker for the Monstrose Magpies (they are Armando's favorite team) that died earlier this month. Giving it to the gargoyle, we waited for the statue to open and reveal the passage, then stepped inside and onto the spiraling staircase which lifted us effortlessly up two flights before depositing us on the landing in front of the great oak door of Dippet's office.

I turned to Harry and gave him a small, encouraging smile before proceeding to knock lightly on the door. A voice from within issued forth, welcoming us into the room, and I opened the door, letting Harry step inside first, before coming in myself.

Armando seemed surprised by the unfamiliar visitor standing before him, and a little bit troubled as well. He turned to me for some sort of an explanation, raising an eyebrow in a questioning manner and knowing that I would get the hint.

"As you can see, Armando, we have a new student here to join us," I began. The eyebrow merely rose a fraction more at my less than adequate explanation, and I smiled good-naturedly before continuing, "His name is Evan Jameson and he has been in hiding for the past six years. His mother attended Bauxbatons from what I've been told and his father was a muggle. Unfortunately, they are both casualties of the war and have left Mr. Jameson with no where else to go besides here, seeing as how he has no other living relatives who might take him in."

Dippet accepted this explanation, nodding quietly in acknowledgement of the news and looking saddened by the reminder of the atrocities taking place outside of these relatively sheltered walls. "I see," he spoke at last, seemingly deep in thought, "I assume Mr. Jameson has been schooled at home thus far...he may join whichever year's level he is at. He will, of course, need to be sorted. If you would be so kind as to take care of that Albus, along with any of his other needs..." he trailed off, looking questioningly at me.

"I would be happy to take care of the arrangements. I plan on having him sorted first thing, at dinner tonight. He shall be needing books and robes and the like, which I will be sure to supply him with first thing in the morning, along with his schedule," I offered, right on top of things. Dippet nodded at this, seeming pleased with the solution I had provided.

"Very well, he shall be sorted tonight after I give a speech to the rest of the school," he spoke solemnly before turning to 'Mr. Jameson,' "Welcome to Hogwarts, my boy," he spoke with a slight smile before dismissing us both to leave.

We turned and exited the room quietly, letting the headmaster get back to whatever important business he had been attending to before our unexpected arrival, shutting the door quietly behind us as we left. We stepped back onto the revolving stairs, and Harry took the time to put his Hogwarts robe on, making sure to remove the Gryffindor emblem embroidered on the breast with a simple charm, though not before I had taken note of it.

As we reached the bottom of the stairs and stepped back out to the hallway, with the gargoyle shutting swiftly behind us, I took the opportunity to check the time, taking out my rather elaborate pocket watch from the inner pocket of my highly fashionable (or so I'd like to think) cerulean colored robes. Adjusting the half moon spectacles that sit upon the bridge of my rather crooked nose, I gazed for a moment at the watch, before declaring with pleasant surprise to my companion that it is nearly time for us to make our way to the dining hall.

Setting a brisk pace, I quickly led 'Evan' down by way of secret passage to a room just off of the great hall where I would have him wait until it was time for his sorting. I watched as he sat down in one of the rich, crimson colored armchairs before the grand fireplace before hurriedly making my way back up to my office to grab the sorting hat from its place on one of my many shelves. I do hope that the hat had time to make up a song; they really are quite clever.

I made good time in getting to my office, using one of the many hidden corridors (this one behind a tapestry on the second floor) to shorten the trip a bit. I stepped inside, smiling as some of the gadgets on my desk began to whirl at my arrival, before making my way to the overstuffed bookcase that rested against the wall behind my desk. The sorting hat lay at about eye level on a colorful, embroidered cushion on the fourth shelf up. It seemed to grumble as I approached, though it is rather hard to tell with hats, and seemed none too pleased at being disturbed so soon after the last sorting.

"Come now," I spoke consolingly to it as I let out a slight chuckle, "it must get rather boring sitting up here on my shelf all year round except for one day. And I should hope that you were able to make up a song at such quick notice; you know, I rather enjoy them," I confided in the hat, hoping to improve its mood. I'm sure that if it were possible, the hat would have rolled its eyes, but it did seem pleased none the less.

Gathering first the three legged stool in the corner of the room, I returned to the hat and picked it up carefully from its resting place. The feast would soon be starting, if in fact it had not already begun, so I would need to hurry down to the room in which I left 'Evan.'

I took the secret passage route once again and managed to make my way to the room adjoining the great hall just as Dippet began his speech. 'Evan' stood as I entered the room and I hurriedly ushered him over to the door, which led out to the teacher's table at the front of the room, as I managed to make out the last of Dippet's explanation regarding the new student, Evan Jameson.

This was our queue. I opened the door with a whoosh that echoed through the hall as the students held their breath in anticipation. The silence ended as I stepped out with 'Evan' trailing behind me. The students went about whispering and pointing, their curiosity peeked. The only one who didn't do so was Mr. Riddle, having already seen the new student a few hours ago. I almost felt sorry for 'Evan,' being put on the spot up here all alone on the stage. But he didn't seem to notice the way everyone was staring and gossiping, or at least he pretended not to.

We finally made our way to the front of the room, standing before the teacher's table with the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff ones on either side. I set the somewhat lopsided stool down before placing the sorting hat upon it. The wide rip in the brim of the hat that served as its mouth opened and the hat let out a few light coughs to clear its throat before breaking out into one of its legendary songs.

"An unexpected student
Joins us partway through the year
He has no where else to turn to
But will be quite welcome here

"He is older than the majority
Of students that I've sorted
He'll join the ranks of the 6th year
Or so it's been reported

"He may be a sweet Hufflepuff
Loyal to the end
Or perhaps in intelligent Ravenclaw
Is where he'll find a friend

"Or maybe noble Gryffindor
Is where he'll find his place
And last of all sly Slytherin
If ambition is his trait

"Come now and place me on your head
So the sorting may commence
I'll sift your thoughts and search your brain
To find which house shall suit you best."

It ended its song and became stationary as I announced, "Jameson, Evan," then moved aside and out of the way.

Evan sat down stiffly, almost as if he was a bit nervous what the outcome would be, though he didn't want to let anyone in on that fact. I didn't see any reason for him to be nervous, after all, he had been through this before, but perhaps there was some other reason for his behavior.

The hat sat upon his head for quite some time, falling down just a little bit over his eyes and crinkling its top every once in a while almost as if it was deep in thought. Five minutes passed by and I found myself becoming quite intrigued. I could not remember it ever having taken so long for a student to be sorted...perhaps because he was older than most? I really can't be sure, and it seems that the students are curious now as well; I can hear them whispering loudly amongst themselves as the hat continues to contemplate its decision.

Finally, it straightened up, getting ready to make its announcement. The students quieted down immediately upon noticing this and the hall fell deathly quiet before the resounding voice of the hat let out a shout of "SLYTHERIN!"

I would be lying if I said that I am not surprised. I was quite certain that I had seen a Gryffindor insignia on the front of his robes earlier...surely the houses have not changed with time...so why would he be in Slytherin now when he was in Gryffindor before?

I came back to my senses as I heard the Slytherin table break out into a polite round of applause and watched carefully as Evan made his way towards his new housemates. He didn't seem too surprised by the outcome of the sorting, which I found almost as odd as the outcome itself. There was definitely something unusual about this boy, though I couldn't quite place my finger on what it was just yet.


AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well, I hope you liked this chapter okay. I hope I did okay on Dumbledore's POV. I think I'll do Tom's POV again next chapter. Not a lot happened in this chapter, but the next one should be more interesting and eventful. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed the story! I must say that I have been pleasantly surprised by the amount of positive feedback I have gotten for this fic. I would have had this chapter up sooner, but I haven't been able to sign on to my account for awhile because of the upgrades and whatnot to the sight.

Once again, the review answers for this chapter have been taken down in compliance with FF's rules.