A/N: Hello everyone! I suddenly realize how long it's been since I last posted...all I can say is that time really got away from me! Here's a new chapter for you. This one is only 1993, and was supposed to be about something completely different. But this scene turned into something much longer than I intended it to, and I realized that the coming scenes might be a little bit harder to write. I decided to go ahead and post this, even though I know it's short, and I will try and get the next chapter out as soon as I can!
Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed last chapter! Hope you enjoy this one!
1993
At first Harry had suggested that they hide Sirius away in the Room of Requirement, but even after Harry had explained the Room's amazing capabilities, everyone was skeptical that they could successfully hide Sirius in the castle itself. So, after some more brainstorming, Harry had remembered the cave that Sirius had stayed in during his fourth year.
Harry had, naturally, wanted to show them the way to the cave, but Remus had argued fervently that he needn't sneak off the grounds, and Harry could tell that the two old friends needed some time to catch up and process everything Harry had told them. Eventually Harry had just drawn them a map to find their way to the cave. Remus and Sirius set off, but not before Harry had hugged Sirius, and whispered, "I'll come to visit you soon!" into his godfather's ear. Sirius still seemed shaken. He obviously wasn't sure what to think of Harry. But he had hugged him back, a long-lost godfather reunited with his almost-son, and Harry's promise had earned him a mischievous smile. The way Sirius' skin stretched around his smile made Harry sure he hadn't grinned mischievously in a long time.
So Sirius had transformed back into a dog and Remus had followed him into the woods, in search of the Hogsmeade cave, and Harry was left standing next to Ron and Hermione in the middle of the Forbidden Forest.
"Oh Harry," Hermione said quietly. "I'm so happy for you both."
Harry smiled, surprised at the unexpected response. "You don't think Sirius seems too mental?"
"I didn't say he didn't seem mental…" Hermione frowned. "But he's alright, isn't he? If you two were close in the future. Surely he just needs some time away from Azkaban."
Harry snorted, thinking about Sirius' dark sense of humor, something that Azkaban hadn't quite taken away, but hadn't been responsible for, either. No, his Hermione had never stopped thinking that Sirius was mental. But then Harry's thoughts plunged once again into sadness, because he remembered that Sirius would only live for another couple of years. There wouldn't be time for him to fully recover from Azkaban, and he would die after being locked up in a prison of a house for so many months. Die because he was so desperate to be free, when he had never really gotten the chance to live at all…
His spiraling thoughts must've shown on his face, because he felt a hand on his shoulder. "Harry?" Hermione asked, concerned. Ron was also looking over at him, but he was silent and his thoughts seemed to be elsewhere. Harry didn't blame him - he had a lot to process.
"I'm fine," Harry said quickly, attempting to tighten his features.
Hermione looked at him with sympathy, and a fierce knowledge that reminded him once again that she knew him well, even if she was younger than he was used to.
"You said that Sirius was dead, didn't you?" It wasn't a question so much as an apology.
Harry answered anyway. "Yeah. But that's not coming up anytime soon."
Hermione didn't break her gaze, and her eyes grew sadder as she put the pieces together. "But you only came back four years."
She was right, he knew. He wanted to pretend that everything was great, here in 1993, and that all of them had unlimited time before anything bad happened. But they didn't. They had less than two years before Voldemort was resurrected, less than three before Sirius was killed, less than four before Dumbledore died. Then everything turned insane, and they were plunged full into war, into living in a tent on the run and listening to a secret radio station to find out if their friends were still alive. Harry wanted to believe that Ron and Hermione, only thirteen years old, had years before that was their reality. He wanted to believe that Dumbledore, and Sirius, had years of life left, and that Remus had years to reunite with his best friend. But no, they didn't have much time at all. Soon his horrible reality would be theirs.
"What if you could save him?" Hermione wondered, and it almost sounded like she didn't mean to say it out loud.
"What?" Harry asked, startling from his thoughts.
Hermione blushed, and he knew she hadn't meant to say it out loud. But she repeated it anyway. "What if you could save him?" she asked. "You know when and how he dies, don't you? And you've already changed things by meeting him, haven't you?"
Harry stared at Hermione. Because for some reason the thought hadn't crossed his muddled mind. He didn't know what to do with himself, now that he was stuck in 1993, but he did know things. He did know when people died. He knew where Pettigrew was hiding.
"But that would mean changing history," Harry said quietly.
Hermione's sharp gaze met his. "Don't you want to change history?" she asked.
Of course he did.
But could he actually change any of it? Was it worth it? Or would he mess everything up like he often did and make the future even worse?
Harry fought the urge to plop down on the forest floor and curl into a ball. He didn't think he could do this alone.
But Hermione was there beside him again, and Ron was too, even if his mind was elsewhere. They didn't know the future like he did, but he knew they wouldn't leave his side, and maybe they could help him with the hard stuff. Just like they always had.
It was certainly something to think about.
Suddenly Ron jumped, startled out of his daze, and Harry caught sight of a baby acromantula's leg, waving out from the brush as if taunting them. Ron recoiled and stumbled back, crashing into Hermione.
"F-forbidden f-forest," he stammered. "S-sp-spider -"
"Ron's right," said Harry. "We should probably get back to the castle."
Hermione shook herself, as if she had forgotten where they were, and quickly surveyed their surroundings. She pulled her wand out of her pocket and held it at her side, ready to hex any strange creature that tried to attack them.
Almost like battle instincts, Harry noted. Her instincts had and would serve her well during war.
He just hoped that she didn't have to use them.
"Let's go," he said, also fingering his wand, too wary of an attack not to. There wasn't anything in the Forbidden Forest that scared him, at least no more than Death Eaters scared him, and he had faced plenty of those and lived. But at least on the outside, he was a third-year student, and it wouldn't do for a professor to find them wandering in the woods.
Hermione started to jog back toward the castle, with Ron stumbling behind her. His face was a mask of fear, but more than that his eyes held fears, and thoughts that Harry could only guess at. Harry wasn't sure if Ron believed him yet about the future or not, but surely seeing Sirius show up was a shock to the system. Especially to see Harry beside him, acting so much like someone who knew Sirius well. To Ron, Harry was still his thirteen-year-old best mate, and realizing that Harry had lived a life he knew nothing about must be unnerving.
Harry knew he needed to sit down and talk to Ron later. But for now, he just tightened his grip on his wand, scanned the woods behind him, and took up the rear, making sure to protect his friends from the dangers that faced them even now.
A/N: Thanks for reading! If you get the chance, I'd love to see what you thought about it in the reviews!
