Thanking my wonderful betas for their contributions, once again.
'This is a LOTE'
A Tale of Two Times
Snatched through time at birth, Harry becomes a time Traveller. He discovers this at five when he meets his real parents, and goes to Hogwarts prepared... but he hadn't realised Voldemort had a spy in Hogwarts and was trying to steal a dangerous artefact.
Chapter Eighteen
Halloween Harry
October: 1991
It was rapidly approaching Halloween, but the mood among Harry's friends was glum. Lilly had been thoroughly depressed after losing her hand and was still prone to burst into tears at any random time. The teachers were all very accepting of this, and she had been receiving counselling from the school psychologist, a squib by the name of Tabbita Ravencross. Tabbita had asked them to call her by her first name, and gave them a group session on how to cope once a week, while she had an hour with Lilly every day.
Lilly's parents had been contacted, and had wanted to storm the school and have her and Louise removed, but they were finally convinced that it would be okay to let their daughters stay at Hogwarts for now. Lilly had had to relearn all the spells, using her left hand, which made it far more difficult for her to perform well. She also was excused from handing in essays until her handwriting was legible, though she was given instructions that she still should do them, as practice for her handwriting. Every night she would sit up and painstakingly write a paragraph, or two, which would take her an extremely long time. She could also no longer use sign language, as you needed both hands for that. Lilly was currently at the breakfast table, her friends surrounding her, attempting to cut up her bacon with one hand but refusing their help. Tears forming in her eyes, she stabbed a piece that she had managed to chop and brought it clumsily to her mouth.
'Harry, we should do something to help her,' Louise signed concernedly, frowning in sorrow at her twin. Lilly was occupied with staring miserably at her plate, and didn't notice their conversation.
"We'll try to get her excited about Halloween?" Harry suggested, keeping an eye on Lilly's miserable form.
Louise nodded, and they began a very obvious signing conversation that Lilly wouldn't be able to miss. 'I can't wait until Halloween! It's tonight, and it'll be my first Halloween as a witch! All the decorations are already looking fantastic!'
Harry nodded. 'Yeah! Halloween truly is fantastic at Hogwarts-,' he quickly amended his statement. 'That's what I've heard. And Nee was reading the chapter about Halloween to the whole common room last night. She used petrificus totalus so we had to listen,' he joked.
Lilly snickered, seeming to forget her limp stump which was lying on the table. Louise laughed, and Greg shook his head at Hermione in a fake 'I'm ashamed of you' manner. The rest of their group were beginning to get annoyed with their constant signing.
"CAN YOU GUYS PLEASE EXPLAIN WHAT IS SO FUNNY?" Masobelle exploded.
"Just what we were talking about,"
"Don't you know that it's rude to whisper? When you do that stupid signing thing, it's like you're whispering. Where and why the hell did you learn it anyway?"
"Oh," Hermione looked quite embarrassed. "One of our best friends was deaf, and she'd never learnt how to speak, so we had to learn how use sign language so we could be her friend."
"I wouldn't have bothered," Shane said.
"That's why you're not in Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff," Harry pointed out reasonably. "Gryffindor has nothing in its description or reputation saying that they want to learn new things or be friends with everyone."
"Are you insulting Gryffindor? Because Ravenclaw isn't perfect either! So stop pulling my house to bits and look at your own."
"Whoah, Shane, calm it. It wasn't saying anything against Gryffindor. In fact, I'd probably be one of the least likely, as you'll soon find out, I was merely commenting that you don't have that reputation. There are bad things about Ravenclaw too, in fact, they tend to be the worst gossips in the school and are often afraid to ask questions in class because they don't want to be seen as stupid."
Shane though about it. "Sorry, Hazza. I should have-,"
"That's okay. I mean, everyone usually thinks their house is the best. It's just the way things work," he said supremely, cutting the other boys apology off.
"Stop being so arrogant."
"I can't help it," he smirked, turning back to his Fruit Loops. Apparently, in the thousand years that had passed, the House Elves had learnt something about how to make them. When they'd tried to make him some 1000 years ago, they'd gone stale in 2 hours, and were all kind of white. Now they were the colours that they were supposed to be, and fresh to boot.
Hermione pulled a letter off Hedwig's leg and exclaimed in surprise. "Oh, look Harry! Syrinx and Ivanna wrote me! They got back from Aunt Zelda's house. Apparently my absentminded parents forgot to tell them that I'd gone!"
Harry sniggered. "That'd be like them,"
"Who're Syrinx and Ivanna?" Masobelle enquired, pouring Fruit Loops into her bowl and splashing some milk on top.
"My sisters. They went to stay with my wealthy Aunt Zelda, who's taken a shine to them. She wouldn't give me a penny, but that's just the way some people are. She always takes them on long holidays, and she pays for them to go to the most expensive private schools. They themselves are quite nice, they don't really like Zelda either, but put up with her so they can go to Hedwig's and have holidays and presents all the time."
"Didn't you go to St Hedwig's too?"
Seeing that Hermione had packed her mouth with a piece of bacon and was drinking pumpkin juice, he answered for her. "Yes, she did, but she was on a scholarship, most of the time. So was I. The rest of them are just bloody rich."
"Hazza, that's not fair. You're richer than all of us!" Lilly protested. Harry and Louise exchanged a glance, pleased that she seemed to be distracted from her arm.
"And?"
Susan butted in before they could get into another argument and make Lilly depressed again. "So what else can you tell me about Syrin and Ivanna?"
"Syrinx," Hermione and Harry corrected simultaneously. Hermione went on, after finishing the last of her mouthful. "But you don't want to call them that. Only Harry, my family, their best friends and I can get away with it. Call them Em and Liz."
"Where do Em and Liz come from?"
"Their middle names. Emily and Elizabeth."
Susan nodded.
"Ages?"
"Ten and seven,"
And that was how the extraordinarily strange day, even in Harry's experience, began.
The first strange thing that happened was that they actually stared to do some work in their classes. In Charms, they began to levitate their feathers. Harry, of course, got his on first try. Hermione got hers on second try, and succeeded in thoroughly annoying her Slytherin partner, Marrok Lopez.
Marrok was jabbing his wand at the father, and it eventually mummified itself. "Cool!" he exclaimed. Hermione looked at the pale youth disdainfully.
"You have to say the spell," she told him icily.
"You do it then, if you're so clever," he said, and pushed the feather in front of her.
Hermione raised her eyebrows at him, but pulled out her wand, "Wingardium Leviosa." The mummified feather stayed put. Marrok jeered at her, but she refused to acknowledge him. She frowned, bit her lip, and said it again, just as Marrok went to snatch it back. This time, it floated obligingly to the ceiling, and Hermione smiled triumphantly at Marrok.
The Slytherin merely sneered and twisted his face up. "Shut up, you stupid little mudblood," he told her, not able to think of anything better to say.
Hermione looked as though she were about to burst into tears. This caused Marrok to sneer further.
Later, as they were filing out of the classroom, Hermione hissed scathingly at him, "You're as bad as a werewolf, you know that? A mindless killer. And you can't talk, you little werewolf,"
The comment about him being little was hardly unreasonable, as he was hardly taller than a seven year old, let alone 11. He was notoriously small for his age.
She didn't even stop to consider the effect that it would have on him, and chased after Harry with her book bag, while Marrok looked stricken. He wasn't seen for the rest of the day.
In Herbology, they had to adopt a magical Snap Dragon as their project. The idea was to keep it alive and make it grow as best you could in two weeks. Professor Clear was being particularly fussy about the state of them, and told Shane off severely because a leaf had fallen off when she had poked it with her wand.
In History of Magic, Kantooth decided to deviate from the plan and began to talk about the Legend of the Halloween Ghost, in light of the event.
"There was a Ghost that turned up every Friday night, and it would howl loudly outside Mrs Tempus's Window. Mrs Tempus got extremely angry with the Ghost and cast a spell on it, so that it could only come at Halloween, because Halloween was traditionally one of the most powerful days in the magic year, excepting the 31st of July and the solstices.
Before the next Halloween, her husband Kilian died, and when the time came, there were two Ghosts where there should have been one.
'Go away!' she shouted in fear, and the voice of the ghost that answered was the voice of Mrs Tempus's former husband.
'Vivien,' it said to her in its eerie howl. 'Why did you trap my soul like this?'
Mrs Tempus didn't know what he meant, and enquired as much.
'The ghost that you spelled was my long dead father. You cursed my soul and his to ever haunt you!'
'Your long dead father? Did he not die when you were but ten?'
'He did, he did, but he weren't looking for you. For him to pass to the other side, he were to visit all of us, Vivi. The only way that we can be released is for you to kill yourself with my sword!'
Vivien was not at all a brave girl, so she ran from the ghosts. Kilian Tempus and his father caught up with her, and used an ancient magic to drag her to the sword.
'Vivi, please release us,' they moaned. Vivien refused to kill herself, so to this day, Kilian and his father come to Hogwarts Castle every Halloween, to see if they can find someone who will commit suicide for them so that they can finish their journey and go to the afterlife."
"Creepy!" exclaimed Craig Zammit. "Is it true, Professor?"
"It certainly is, my boy. Some people believe that releasing their souls from Vivien's spell could lead to the whole world being destroyed. Others believe that it will lead the world to peace, but no-one is willing to give up their lives to find out."
"How did Mrs Tempus die?" Susan asked curiously.
"Oh, she was brutally murdered when she tried to take her husbands place in war," Kantooth explained as if it happened everyday. The majority of the class looked horrified at the very notion.
"What else?" Zammit asked, obviously intrigued by Vivian Tempus's story.
"Kilian and his father usually approach people in single, but have been known to approach groups. They somehow know everyone's real name, no matter how disguised they are. I would say more, but you're supposed to learn that in sixth year. Besides, the lesson is up."
The whole class departed immediately, relieved to get away from the spooky atmosphere of the classroom, which hadn't been helped by the fact that he'd decided to have the lesson in pitch black.
In transfiguration, they moved on to needles into ornaments. They had a test coming up in a few weeks time, and they had to transfigure their needle into something 'interesting' in McGonagall's words.
In their words, something hard. Harry had turned his needle into a solid gold needle. Unfortunately, McGonagall just thought he'd changed the colour, so told him to do something more interesting. He ended up making a necklace with the Potter Family Crest on it. A small clay pot with a sword crossing over a wand stood in one corner, and another had an aurors shield. One had a small stag and another had a small flower with an E on it.
He personally preferred the Gryffindor Family Crest, but that was too recognisable, and it wasn't his place to use the Ravenclaw Family Crest, which was also recognisable, but far more explainable.
Dinner was an exciting affair. Harry, Hermione and co were sitting at the Gryffindor table. This was because they periodically rotated which tables they sat at. In the morning, they sat with the Ravenclaws, at lunch they sat at the Hufflepuffs Table, and at dinner, they sat at the Gryffindor Table. When they were halfway through their meal, Lucas Lynch, the other DADA Professor, came running though the hall, and up to Professor Dumbledore. After telling him something, Dumbledore stood up. "Due to unforseen circumstances, I ask all houses to return to their dormitories. Please keep as far away from the Lower Dungeons as possible. If the Slytherins could stay behind so we can sort something else out…"
Harry thought back for a moment, before grabbing Hermione, Masobelle, Shane and Susan, dragging them with him. "Come this way," he told them, remembering what one of his copies, Coby, had told him.
September: 1011
"Make sure that you grab as many of your friends as possible, but don't make it to obvious, then head to the boys toilets. Don't let anyone see you, and be on your guard."
"When? And which boys toilets?"
"You'll know when and where. Bye." Coby flashed out and Harry huffed in annoyance.
October: 1991
"Harry, where are we going?" Hermione asked.
"You'll see," he ducked behind a statue, and opened a secret passage. "In."
He shoved them. They emerged from the passage, and were in the Lower Dungeons. "I don't like this Harry," said Susan. "We aren't supposed to be here."
Harry huffed in annoyance. "I'm only here because the Traveller told me to come, bringing as 'many of my friends as possible.' So I have to do this, whatever it is, and you have to do it too."
"But Harry, I can hear something," she said urgently.
"Well, duh."
Susan gave him a dirty look, before continuing. "Something that sounds like a… ahhhh!"
Harry, Hermione, Masobelle and Shane looked at her. "WEREWOLF!" she shouted, pointing at the wall, her finger shaking.
"What are you talking about?" Harry began for them, but they could hear an inhuman snarling approaching, and not a minute later, a werewolf rounded the corner, from where Susan had pointed.
"AHHHHH! WEREWOLF!" they all shouted, turning on their heels and running as fast as they could in the opposite direction. Susan was standing, rooted to the spot with fear. Harry, giving up all pretences, Travelled to Susan, grabbed her, Travelled to catch up with the rest of them, and grabbed them, shoving them into a secret passage. "H-H-Harrison Gryffindor," he panted at the portrait of his father, it smiled at him in what seemed to be a too calm manner for the present situation.
"Why are you running?"
"W-w-werewolf," Shane panted. "Fu-full moon," Godric's expression grew alarmed, and his portrait swung open. He ushered them in.
"What on the flat earth is a werewolf doing in the school?"
"Dad, I've told you once and I'll tell you a million times. The earth is not in any way, shape, or form, flat."
Hermione, Masobelle, Shane and Susan were by now staring open mouthed at Harry.
"Is that James Potter?" asked Hermione confusedly, thinking that James Potter would surely know that the earth was round.
Harry shook his head. Godric shook his head. "Who's James Potter?"
Harry glared at him. "My adoptive father, you dolt," he hissed.
"Oh yeah. Him."
"Adoptive father?" asked Hermione and Masobelle, as Masobelle elaborated. "My Uncle Sirius said that he remembers when Lily Potter was pregnant with you."
Shane and Susan stared at her.
"Your Uncle Sirius is insane, he killed 12 people and he is Azkaban," Susan informed her, not unkindly.
"We visit him, okay?" she said defensively, blushing. "But he said he could remember?"
"He would remember Lily being pregnant, yes." Godric said. "That child, however was stillborn. Merlin took Harry and gave him to the Potters, and made them pretend that Harry was their son. It wasn't hard, since they had been charmed from birth to look like myself and Harry's mother."
"If you don't mind me asking, but who are you?" asked Hermione finally, frustrated. Harry choked back a gulp. When Hermione found out, it would not be pretty. Unless she was in too much shock or she was going to wait until they were in private. He was all for waiting till they were in private. He'd just make sure they were never in private again.
"Oh yeah, I forgot about that. I'm Godric Gryffindor."
Shane and Masobelle stared. "You are Godric Gryffindor?"
"Is there something wrong with that?"
"Harry is your son?" That was Hermione and Susan.
"Yes. That would be why he said Harrison Gryffindor to get in." Godric said it as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Then why aren't you in Gryffindor?" asked Shane, turning to Harry acusingly.
"I am. But mum wouldn't be too happy if I refused to go into her house, would she?"
"Who's your mum?" questioned Susan.
"Rowena Ravenclaw."
They looked even more shocked.
"Your name is Harrison Gryffindor?"
"Yes. Sir Harrison Deogol Gryffindor, and quite a few titles on the end there. But that's not why we're here," he changed the subject, turning questioningly to his father. "We're escaping from a werewolf. Do you remember anything that I might have told you?"
"No. But I think you were friends with a werewolf."
Harry quickly counted up his friend in his head. "Nope. So I told myself to come here so I could befriend a werewolf?"
"You told yourself?" Now they were merely curious, and they thought they were past being surprised.
"Yeah, didn't you work it out? I'm the Traveller. Something to do with being pushed around in time when I was young and powerful,"
"You still are powerful." Godric informed him dryly. "You can do wandless magic, can't you? You can see aura's, can't you? You can…"
Harry shut him up with a wave of his hand. Godric looked indignant, but couldn't do anything about it. "Now, how will we befriend this werewolf?"
"WHAT? Hazza, are you insane? You don't just go up to a werewolf in werewolf form and say 'hi!" Hermione screeched. "I, for one, don't exactly want to die! And we could get expelled! Not that that's as bad as dying, but still!"
"I know that! Now, let me think…"
October: 1011
Nova hid her face and ducked as Sal walked into the potions room. Sal saw her. Though Sal had never really taken that much of a liking to children, Nova seemed different. She was sweet and quiet, never demanding attention. She was powerful, and she had special abilities.
Although Harry, Cecil and Róisín all had special abilities, Sal viewed them as brats. They were spoilt beyond imagination, it would do them good to not get something, in his opinion. But no, they were whingeing, snivelling brats.
But not Nova. She knew what suffering was like. Sal could identify with that, his parents had believed he was becoming to bigheaded, and placed a curse on him. He'd had bad luck for years, until he'd met Helga. That had been the best day of his life.
And now, Helga would give him an heir. An heir that Sal hoped that when it was born would be like Nova. Quiet, obedient, powerful. All that you could want in a child. And to think that it was only six months away.
Extracting himself from his thoughts, he turned back to the girl. He laid a hand on the small beings trembling shoulder. "It is okay, Nova."
It was the first time he had used her name. He usually addressed her, Cecil and Róisín as brats, girls (or boy), or you. "I won't hurt you."
Nova's slowly stopped trembling, and she looked up at Sal. 'You won't hurt me?' she asked in tribal.
Sal didn't understand. All of what she said in that language sounded the same to him. Something like "Maknieya forndray nieya?"
Sal shook his head. Nova blushed realising that he couldn't understand. "Don't matter?" she asked, not sure if her English was perfect.
"Doesn't matter," he corrected her. "Now, I am going to brew a potion for Helga. Would you like to help me?"
Nova nodded shyly. "Well, up there, there are some very high ingredients. Would you please get them for me?"
Nova wasn't really used to using her powers without ritualistic purposes, but complied anyway. Her form was sleek and powerful, and its strong wings lifted her easily off the ground. Grabbing the ingredients in her beak, she flew back down again, and resumed human form. They brewed potions till the night fell. Finally, Sal decided it was time for her to go to bed.
She whispered carefully in English. "Can I call you Papa?" Sal smiled.
"If I can call you my daughter," he replied, tucking her in and kissing her forehead.
Later that night when he and Helga were in bed, he cuddled her, kissed her stomach and said, "Nova asked me if she could call me papa today."
"I hope you said yes?"
"Of course! I like Nova!" Helga murmured something incomprehensible. Sal fell asleep with a smile on his face for the first time in weeks.
Authors Notes:
Hello my friends. Remember, if you have questions, go to my forum. I will also be posting a chapter by chapter summary in the forum, in case anyone is confused. And, beginning from today, I will have the chapter summary at the bottom of every chapter, right about here:
Chapter 18 (Halloween Harry): Lilly learns to deal with the loss of her hand and Hermione has a run in with Marrok Lopez. Then, at the Halloween feast, some of them have a run in with a werewolf, whereupon they discover Harry's parentage and the fact that he's the Traveller.
The question for which the reward is an early chapter if I can get your email, is the same as last chapter, but you are permitted to resubmit ideas with the new info in this chapter. See if anyone can hit the nail on the head as to why Salazar turns evil.