A/N: Well! My last chapter. I hope everyone likes it. Again, I'm so terribly sorry for leaving. But so many things are happening to me right now!
Disclaimer: This, my last chapter, does not belong to me. I followed J.K. Rowling's story-line as best I could and put my own two-cents in here and there. The places are hers, the characters are hers, everything belongs to her! Except for any strange characters or places you might have seen on this grand tour of my mind's imagination. I hope you all enjoy this one as much as you did all the others!
Chapter 12: Training
Luna woke up to find herself in a four poster bed with light shining through the hangings. She sighed. She was back in her bed in Ravenclaw Tower, and those scaly creatures had only been a dream.
Ah, she thought, What a beautiful morning. I wonder if the branemases are out yet?
She opened her hangings and gasped, "What the—?"
Luna Lovegood was looking upon an unfamiliar circular room with seven four poster beds.
I've been kidnapped by ramalitauses! Was her first thought.
Then she took a second glance about the room and noticed that it was decorated with Gryffindor colors, not the usual silver and blue of Ravenclaw.
In the bed next to her she saw Ginny, fast asleep. It took a moment, but then Luna remembered where she was and why she was there.
Sighing with relief she sank back down into her pillows and mulled over what had happened in the past forty-eight hours. Now she remembered everything. The running away from Hogwarts; the horrible first night; the day in the orphanage; and the afternoon in the past.
Luna tilted her head a little and saw that Ginny was now awake and staring about the room without any surprise. She seemed to be scanning it for any possible danger or advantage…a strange habit, but not unwarranted after all they had been through.
"Good morning," said Luna presently.
Ginny turned to her and nodded silently. Then she pointed to the other people in the beds and whispered, "What do you make of them?"
Last night the two girls had met the five other Gryffindor sixth year girls. They were a strange lot of giggly girls. Their hair color ranged from bright blond to black.
One girl, the black haired one named Betty, seemed to always be the center of attention; while Emmiline (whom Ginny knew to be the past Emmiline Vance), was a quiet sort of person.
Ginny found it strange, sleeping next to a person who was supposed to be dead in the future. She had known Emmiline Vance briefly, but had respected her as a top member of the Order of the Phoenix.
"They are strange," said Luna, peering at the sleeping girls with interest, "but that may just be because they are actually supposed to be a generation older than us."
Ginny nodded her agreement. She couldn't get over how peaceful the atmosphere around Hogwarts was. When they had left the future, everybody was tense and agitated. Now, she had entered a time where the only high-strung times were when exams were drawing near. It was nice to relax, but Ginny almost missed the adventurous spirit of the future.
The two girls dressed into their new Hogwarts robes and left the room quietly. It was about seven o'clock on a Saturday morning, so not many people would be out and about.
As they descended the girl's staircase, the seventh year girl's door opened to reveal a nervous Hermione. She looked like a rabbit in headlights as she edged out of the room and closed the door quietly.
She still didn't like the idea of being in the past where so many things could impact the future. They had already drastically changed potential events and had violated almost every rule of time-travel. Hermione shivered as she thought of the implications that could have and the complications it could mean. Could, if…those had become very popular words recently.
"Morning," she said to Luna and Ginny quietly, tiptoeing down the corridor to them. Then she looked around to see if anyone would overhear her and said, "It is so strange sleeping in the same room with Harry's mum."
"I know," Ginny said in agreement, "We've got Emmiline Vance, except she isn't Emmiline Vance in this day and age."
"Who else is in there?" asked Luna curiously, gazing over her shoulder at the door.
"Two other girls, Harry's mum, and Alice Longbottom," Hermione replied, "Except her surname is McKinnon in this time."
"McKinnon?" Ginny asked, and then lowered her voice even more, "Weren't the McKinnons killed by—?"
"Yes," Hermione said softly, "They were one of the wizard families killed by Voldemort and his followers."
Ginny pursed her lips.
"I never knew," she said, glancing sorrowfully at the seventh year girl's dormitory door.
They left the hallway together and entered into the common room. They seemed to be the only ones awake.
Hermione thought the common room was empty until she saw a flicker of movement out of the corner of her eye. She quickly went for her wand, as did Ginny and Luna, but stopped herself.
She was being silly, what danger could there be in the Gryffindor common room at seven o'clock in the morning on a Saturday of 1978?
Hermione almost sighed with relief as she saw Ron's head poke out from behind a comfy armchair.
He smiled at the girls and motioned them to come over to the table where he had spread a few books out.
"Our supplies have come," he said, pushing a stack of books, quills, parchment, and other classroom necessities to Hermione.
Harry and Neville were there too, looking over the materials with slightly bored expressions, but were alert all the same. If the past few years had taught them anything, it was that you should be alert at all times; a habit that was hard to get out of.
Harry looked up and gave the girls a small smile, which was returned by three broad ones.
"Well," he said, looking around at all of them, "here we are. In the past."
"I don't think we should mention anything related to this time traveling business unless we're sure we're alone," whispered Hermione quickly, casting a wary gaze about the room, "The common room isn't secure enough."
"What about the Room of Requirement?" asked Ron.
"Yeah," said Harry.
Hermione smiled mischievously. Harry did a double take and saw the sparkle in her eyes that had been there when she had devised S.P.E.W. and the D.A. Oh boy, here it comes.
"I've been thinking," said Hermione, fingering her new quill absentmindedly, "we have just received the one thing we need most."
"And what's that?" asked Neville, leaning forward, clearly intrigued.
"Time," answered Hermione, "we have just been given more time. Why don't we use it to train ourselves for…" she looked around the room cautiously, "for the horcruxes?"
Harry sat up straighter, anticipating another plan.
"And?" he urged her.
"And," she said, "We could use the room of requirement to look up spells and enchantments. Not spells that we had learned in the D.A., complicated ones," she looked around at them all and went on, "We're all in our final years of education and can do more than we could a few years ago. Those spells Harry taught us will help, but we need ones that will thwart Voldemort's" here Neville shivered slightly at the sound of the name, but didn't say anything, "horcruxes and what guards them. We're in seventh year now and have more access to materials we never would have dreamed of in even fifth year!"
"So you're saying that we just sneak around Hogwarts in the past and duel?" asked Harry.
Hermione shook her head.
"That's not what I meant," she said impatiently, "We should duel in the Room of Requirement of course. And I don't just want us to go to the Room of Requirement," she looked around at them all once again and took a deep breath, "Why don't we do it in the Forbidden Forest?"
Everyone was silent, staring at Hermione in surprise. It was not like her to suggest things like this, but then again, she was in that mood.
"Are you serious?" asked Harry incredulously.
Hermione nodded and then explained, "In the forest we could do flying maneuvers, dueling, and all sorts of things! And, when we're ready, why don't we just go to the heart of the forest and see what we encounter? Nothing in there could be worse then what we've experienced with the horcruxes so far."
Harry looked doubtful, but thoughtful nonetheless. He leaned back in his chair and thought of the possibilities.
They had faced a lot since the beginning of the year. Time travel hadn't been on his list of things to do, but all the same Hermione was right; it gave them precious time to more sufficiently ready themselves for the tasks ahead.
"Right," he said, looking from one person to the other, feeling energy rise up inside him, "Let's do it. It can't be anything worse than what we've already done."
The others made noises of agreement and sat back in their chairs, all thinking about what they were going to do.
Harry found himself already planning training tactics. There would be evasive maneuvers on brooms with a few people attacking and a few people defending. They could…the thoughts went on and on.
Hermione's idea was brilliant and they decided to refer to it from now on as "Training".
As he was thinking of all the spells he could find in the Restricted Section of the library he heard a door close at the top of the boy's dormitory staircase. He and the others quickly snapped out of their daydreams and acted like they were doing homework.
"You're all doing homework?" cried a voice from the top of the stairs, "On a day like this?"
Harry looked up to see James was at the top of the staircase, looking as though he hadn't a care in the world. Behind him the rest of the Marauders were filing down the stairs as well.
"You can't get it done too early," said Hermione superiorly, "If you leave it till later you'll end up with a giant work load."
James made an indifferent gesture and motioned towards the window.
"Have it your way," he said, "but we'll be on the grounds enjoying the sunshine if you don't mind."
"Really," came a disapproving voice from behind them. Everyone turned to see Lilly Potter…Evans, at the top of the stairs with her hands on her hips, "I don't know how you get through all your homework James Potter, but you certainly procrastinate enough! I really have no idea why Dumbledore chose you to be Head Boy!"
It was then that Harry noticed James had on a gold Hogwarts badge. On it were the letters H.B. Harry had seen one before on Ron's brother Percy when he was at Hogwarts so he recognized it as a Head Boy badge.
James jumped as though he had received an electric shock.
"Why," he said, turning to Lily and throwing her a charming smile, "I just have the right genius for homework lovely Evans."
The charming smile had no effect whatsoever on Lily Evans. She gave a sarcastic laugh and scoffed, "If brilliance came in gold you'd be pretty poor Potter. You keep trying to court me as if I were some brainless girl who had nothing better to do than swoon over you. If you had any genius you'd stop harassing me, do away with the cocky attitude and be a proper man."
Harry nearly winced as he heard the comments his mother made about his father. He could hardly understand why she married him if she had hated him so much, or was this all an act?
She kind of reminded him of Hermione. She was smart, cared about homework and even had the same expression on her face that Hermione had when Harry and Ron neglected their homework. But she was also a very stubborn girl with a red-headed temper like Ginny and a big vocabulary which she used not to show off, but to abuse James Potter with. She also seemed to be a by-the-books person like Hermione had been when Harry had first met her. But Hermione had mellowed out a bit and was not quite so fearful of breaking rules.
"Evans I—" James started, but before he could say anything else, Lily Evans strode briskly out of sight back into the girl's dormitories.
Harry tried not to stare and turned back to his books, pretending as though he hadn't heard a word of the conversation. The others followed his lead and bent quickly over their homework.
Sirius shook his head and said, "Bad luck Prongs. You should really concentrate on another girl; there are plenty of them you know that would gladly go out with you."
"But none of them are quite like Evans!" James said, "She has…a certain quality about her."
Hermione gave a short little laugh at his choice of words and covered it up with a small cough. Ginny dropped her quill under the table and bent to retrieve it so she could hide the smile that was blooming across her face.
Ron stared determinedly at the page in his book, his eyes not moving. While Neville seemed to be trying to ignore the fact that he was actually overhearing Harry's dad making comments about Harry's mum.
Harry flipped the page so he wasn't quite so conspicuous and Luna just stared at James in that way of hers.
"She really doesn't like you does she?" asked Luna, still staring at James.
Harry felt like smacking himself with his Transfiguration book. This was not the time for Luna to display her embarrassing honesty!
James stared at her in amazement, not expecting anyone to say such a thing to a guy who had just been let down.
Silence reigned.
Ginny emerged from under the table and theatrically on accident knocked a few books over to cover up the awkward moment.
Everyone snapped back to their senses and looked away from each other. Harry almost grinned. Luna's words had an effect like that, but never had there been a moment quite like that.
James finally recovered and left the room without a word, following his beloved Lily out through the portrait hole and down to breakfast; the rest of the Marauders following along in his wake.
As soon as they were gone Hermione sighed exasperatedly and was about to berate Luna when the door to the upstairs girl's dormitories opened again. Out emerged a plump seventh year witch with a round face and long blond hair.
Harry felt his breath catch in his throat and everyone nearly gasped to see Neville's mother standing at the top of the stairs. But they held back their surprise and didn't let it register on their faces.
Alice Longbottom—McKinnon, looked down on them warmly, a dimpled smile spreading across her round face.
"Hello," she greeted the group, walking down the stairs towards them, "You must be the transfer students. I'm Alice McKinnon, seventh year."
She looked at Hermione.
"I've already met you," she said and turned to the others, "And who might you be?"
They quickly introduced themselves, using their false names. Neville almost stuttered his name, but kept calm.
"Wonderful," said Alice when the introductions had been made, "Have you seen Lily? She must be down at breakfast." She nodded to them and started for the portrait hole.
"It was nice meeting you all!" she called back over her shoulder and the portrait hole closed.
A collective sigh ran throughout the six friends. That, along with all else that had happened had come as a shock. Neville was as white as a sheet and leaning back in his armchair, breathing heavily. All the rest were avoiding each other's eyes.
After a few minutes everyone's heart beat gradually turned to normal and they began to stare at one another instead of at the floor.
"I think we should get out of here before we meet anymore unpleasant surprises," said Hermione softly.
Everyone except for Neville nodded and rose. Ginny walked over to their shaken friend and put a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"Do you want to talk about it later?" she asked, her eyes shinning with pity.
Neville mutely shook his head and stood up, trembling slightly. Then, avoiding everyone's gaze he blinked and asked, "What now?"
They seemed to have been asking that question a lot lately, but Harry answered, "Act as if everything was normal and try not to be conspicuous."
The six of them started off for the Great Hall in a sedated manner, not talking about anything that had happened; they'd save that for when they were alone in the Room of Requirement.
Ginny slid her hand into Harry's and gave it a reassuring squeeze. He smiled back and held her hand as they walked ahead of the others.
As they made their way down the Fat Lady's corridor, a crowd of Gryffindors erupted from the portrait hole, chatting and socializing merrily.
James sat down in the middle of the Gryffindor table, feeling slightly put-out. He had failed yet again to capture the beautiful and bright Lily Evans. Would he ever receive her affection?
Yes, he told himself determinedly, I will win her if I have to go to the ends of the earth to do it.
"Cheer up James," squeaked Peter, offering him a platter of bacon, "You'll get her someday."
"But when?" sighed impatient James, "I've been trying for countless years, showing her my compassion for her."
"Maybe you shouldn't try such a direct approach," said Remus, frowning.
James looked up at his friend. He knew Remus didn't exactly take to girls, but he never been irritable like this when the subject came up.
"What's the matter Moony?" asked Sirius cheerfully, lightly punching his friend on the shoulder.
James remembered something Remus had said last night about the new students.
"Yeah," he said, "And while you're at it, inform us on what you never got around to telling us last night."
Remus took a quick look around to make sure no one was listening to them talk. Strange.
Then he leaned across the table and motioned for everyone to come a little closer. Curious, the others brought their heads closer, all ears.
"It's just…" he took another look around, "It's just that they seem all too familiar with Hogwarts."
James laughed and leaned back in his chair. So that's what Moony was worried about.
"Dumbledore gave them a tour Remus!" he said, twirling his fork around in his fingers.
"But could you navigate all throughout Hogwarts after only one tour?" argued Remus.
"They didn't seem to know it that well," said Peter and then pointed out, "Harry got lost on the way to Defense Against the Dark Arts."
"He did it on purpose," said Remus huffily and crossed his arms over his chest. Then added as an afterthought, "Did you see the way he looked around the common room when he first went in?"
The others shook their heads. Remus sighed. They were so unobservant.
"He looked around almost…bored."
James dismissed the information with a wave of his hand and scanned the hall for Lily. Sirius lost interest as well and resumed eating his scrambled eggs. Peter, the natural follower, did the same while sending anxious glances across the table at Remus. He seemed to think Remus was imagining things; probably still tired from the full moon.
As Remus, frustrated with his friends' behavior took a sip of pumpkin juice he happened to glance towards the Great Hall doors.
In entered the aforementioned students. Harry, holding Ginny Thomas' hand and walking down the aisle between the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw tables.
He wasn't the only one who had noticed. Many people were staring at them as well. As the exchange students made their way down to the middle of the Gryffindor table many heads turned. Eventually, nearly everyone in the hall was staring. Harry seemed to ignore the staring students and sat down near James. His friends sat down a little more nervously.
As they sat down, whispered conversation erupted throughout the hall. Evidently someone had blabbed about the eventful seventh year Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson. And, as always, word traveled fast within the halls of Hogwarts.
James started to think about what Remus had said but his thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice.
"Lily! There you are," a voice called down the table.
James turned to see Alice , Lily's best friend striding down towards her. James thought Alice was an okay girl, but never as witty or attractive as Lily.
Distracted by his thoughts about his lovely Lily, James fortunately forgot all about Harry and his friends.
Harry entered the Great Hall, still hand in hand with Ginny. As they came in, he noticed the familiar feeling of everyone's eyes on him. People's heads turned as he and his friends passed by them; everyone was staring.
Harry was so used to it now that he ignored it. The others though, were a little unsettled. They didn't get this treatment as often as Harry did. Together they all sat down near James and the rest of the Marauders. As they did, conversation broke out amongst the students.
Obviously word of the events of their first Defense Against the Dark Arts class in the past had gotten out. And, just as in the future, word traveled fast around Hogwarts. That was something normal at least.
He looked beside him to find Ginny smiling knowingly at him. She knew what he was thinking. Harry slung his arm around her shoulders and brought her close to him, whispering, "Some things don't ever change."
She nodded her agreement and settled down to eat. Neville passed a platter off toast towards them and shakily took up a knife to butter his own piece.
James leaned over Sirius and asked them, "What are you lot going to do today?"
Harry chewed his toast and thought. He had wanted to start Training, but they had to keep James preoccupied first.
So, Harry shrugged and said, "You know, the usual. Just homework and probably explore a little of Hogwarts."
James grinned and whispered, "Homework? Come on, have some fun! We'll show you the Quidditch pitch, ever played?"
Harry sat back, thinking back to the days he had played for Gryffindor's Quidditch team on the pitch.
"A little," was all he said.
"Great! You'll come?"
"Sure."
And so it was settled. When they had finished eating, the Marauders and Time-Travelers set off to the Quidditch pitch. But before they made it to the entrance hall a voice called out from behind them.
"Hermione!"
The group turned to see Lily striding towards them, Alice close behind.
"Want to come to the library with us?" she asked, "I couldn't help but overhear Potter here saying he was going to take you to the Quidditch pitch. There's nothing more dull really, why not get some work done?"
Hermione considered. She could get to know Harry's mother better or proceed with rest of the Quidditch pitch which see had seen a dozen times over already.
No, she told herself, you're already messing with the past, don't make it worse by befriending the mothers of two of your friends.
But the first option sounded more appealing. They were stuck here in the past for a while, what could it hurt? Despite her own warnings, Hermione chose to go with her first choice.
"Coming," she said, waving to the others as she skipped off. Ginny looked at her as though she were mad to pass up an opportunity to be outside and read text books instead. But Hermione's mind was made up. It would be more interesting anyway, getting to know Neville and Harry's mothers.
In the library, Hermione opened her copy of Advanced Transfiguration and quietly observed Lily and Alice; keeping track of the conversation and trying to learn more about them. But they didn't seem to be interested in anything other than homework at the moment. She was really beginning to like these two.
"Shall we start with Transfiguration then?" asked Alice, peering at the book Hermione had picked up.
Hermione looked up from the line she was reading on conjuring methods and looked at Lily.
"Sure," Lily said with a shrug, "Why not?"
She too took out her Transfiguration text book and opened it to page fifty-five. They sat quietly for a while, concentrating on their work.
They soon finished their Transfiguration and moved on to Defense Against the Dark Arts and chatting quietly about random topics.
"So where did you say you went to school before this?" Lily asked bending down to take another book out of her bag.
Uh-oh, this conversation was getting a little uncomfortable.
"Oh," Hermione said, slightly taken aback. She had been waiting for these kinds of questions and was fully prepared to meet them; but now that they had been asked she felt a little awkward. She gave herself a mental shake and got her act together.
"You know," she said off-handedly, reaching across the table for her ink bottle, "Just around. We've been all over the place, me and my friends. One time we were in France."
"When did you hear about Hogwarts? You seem to know a lot about it," Alice commented.
Not good. Things were going from bad to worse. Not knowing what else to do Hermione shrugged and steered the conversation out of dangerous waters.
"You just pick things up. Have you two ever been to France? Ever tried their delicious homemade éclairs?"
They continued to talk about foreign countries as they packed up and left the library.
Hermione almost sighed with relief. This was easier than she had thought; once you get away from certain touchy subjects anyway. She began to wonder how the others were doing.
Harry watched as Hermione left them to go to the library with Lily and Alice. He had thought that Hermione didn't like the idea of splitting up. But then again, they had to act normal didn't they? If this was what you called normal.
"So, Harry," James said, bringing Harry's attention back on him, "Exactly how good are you?"
They continued to walk through the entrance hall and out onto the grounds, talking about Quidditch. Harry and the others carefully avoided giving too much personal information whenever they could. They had decided to be a little cautious; otherwise they might let something about the future slip.
As they trudged up the path to the Quidditch pitch, Harry looked about the grounds with no particular interest. Everything was pretty much the same as in the future. The trees didn't look much younger and neither did the castle itself; they were just too old to have a few twenty years or so make a difference.
"That's the Whomping Willow," James was saying, "And this is…" he was again playing tour guide. And he seemed to be enjoying too, judging by the great smile on his face. It would seem as though he liked showing off where he lived and how much he knew about it.
Ron spared a "whoa" when he mentioned the Whompings Willow's abilities just so the Marauders wouldn't get suspicious, but didn't put much enthusiasm in it.
It also seemed that he liked showing off his abilities. Once they got to the pitch he got himself a broom and kicked off. Then he proceeded to shoot a few magnificent goals for the on-lookers.
James Potter was as good at being a chaser as Harry had ever heard. Though he hadn't seen his father in a game yet, he couldn't help but notice that he had a certain style about him. Harry too had skill on the Quidditch field; it came natural to him. Now watching James, Harry couldn't help but see the certain similarities between him and his father.
Ginny anxious to be in the air playing instead of just watching, but didn't say anything. Harry knew she was anxious to be on a broom, he was too for that matter, but it would probably best if they stayed low and not reveal too much about themselves just yet. Hermione of course didn't want them to reveal anything, but it couldn't be helped.
Remus seemed to notice their agitation and said they could use the school brooms to go up there if they wanted. They politely declined and turned back to watch James.
Little did they all know that Remus Lupin was keeping an eye on them and putting every detail he could get together into a mental picture.
After telling his friends his suspicions and having them shunted aside, Remus kept quiet and didn't say another word. Instead he watched James as he ranted off how wonderful Hogwarts was.
But Harry and his friends, Remus noticed, didn't seem very interested in the scenery. On the contrary, they seemed yet again to be bored with their surroundings and didn't even give the Whomping Willow a second glance.
Ron Thomas gave a little enthusiastic praise by saying "whoa" but that was it. No exclamation of surprise at the strange and violent nature of the tree, no comments on how they wouldn't want to get too close to that kind of plant, no, nothing.
Remus was starting to get a little disturbed at the ever lingering presence of suspicion on his mind. It pressed in on him every time he got close to starting to like the newcomers.
Then Remus noticed something else about Harry. He had just happened to glance at Harry's forehead as the wind swept his bands back. There, right between Harry Colbey's eyes, was a curious mark.
Remus looked closer and saw that it was lightning-bolt shaped scar. It was quite unlike anything he had ever seen before. Remus frowned slightly, wondering how the strange mark came to be on its owner's forehead, but didn't say anything.
As they made their way up into the stands to watch as James throw a few Quaffles, Remus couldn't help but see Ginny look up longingly at the air as if she wished she could be up there too.
Remus naturally proposed they take a broom from the school broom cupboard and go up, but they turned down the offer. Remus was liking this less and less. If they wanted to go up then why didn't they just do it when the chance arrived? They seemed to be getting more mysterious by the hour.
By late afternoon studying and touring a place they already knew was getting old. So the six friends told their new friends that they were going to go to the common room to do homework. Lily and Alice accepted their decision but James on the other hand…
"Why? We've only just started! There's still the whole castle—"
"No thanks, James," Hermione said, giving him what she hoped was an apologetic look, "We've got to get our work done."
Of course they had all already finished their homework; they just wanted some time to themselves.
So the six of them made their way up the staircase leading to the entrance hall and up a few floors. On the spur of the moment Harry decided it was time they discuss their plans for Training.
He ducked into an empty classroom and the others followed.
"Now," he said once the door was securely closed and Imperturbable, "Why don't we start Training tonight?"
"Same time as the D.A.?" asked Neville.
"Same time as the D.A.," Harry confirmed.
At quarter till eight o'clock that night they all met in the common room and started for the Room of Requirement on the seventh floor. Harry had brought his invisibility cloak and the Marauder's map just incase. Fifth years and above could be out of their common rooms until nine o'clock and Harry planned to use the time between now and then to fine-tune their fighting skills a little every night if possible. Before they got to portrait hole however they were hailed from behind.
"Hey guys!" James called across the room, "Where are you going?"
"Just a walk," said Hermione quickly, always on top of things.
"Well then, why don't we all go," James was half out of his chair before he noticed that Lily was smirking at him.
"They don't need you to escort them everywhere Potter," she said scathingly, "From what I've seen in Defense Against the Dark Arts they are perfectly able to protect themselves."
James turned a light shade of magenta.
"Now see here Evans—"
Lily turned and gave Hermione a half-wink and a wave. With that cue the six of them left, leaving behind the arguing voices of Harry's parents.
Ron shook his head in disbelief as they closed the portrait hole behind them.
"I don't know how they ever got together," he said incredulously, "She simply despises him."
Harry had thought so too at one time, but had come to know that her mother had actually had feelings for James. Either she was hiding them (and doing a good job of it) or else she didn't know that she had them yet.
They hurried through the corridors until they came to the old tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy and the Room of Requirement.
After checking to make sure no one was watching, Harry paced back and forth in front of where the door was and thought over and over:
We need a place where we can prepare ourselves for the dangers of the future and Voldemort. We need a place to learn complex spells that will cheat his obstacles that guard the horcruxes. We need a place where we can learn to defend ourselves.
After the third pass a polished door appeared in the while beside him. Harry took a hold of the doorknob and opened it into the room beyond.
Harry had expected the room to turn into the same one it had for the D.A., but he was wrong.
He now looked upon a different room. Like in their previous makeshift classroom there were shelves with books that contained spells, jinxes, and curses. There were also the usual Dark Detectors. But there was also something new; in the middle of the room there lay a pensieve. It looked similar to the one Dumbledore had had in his office; stony, ancient, and mysterious. There was also an adjoining room for dueling and another door in the wall. No one knew what was behind the door because it was locked.
Ginny had gotten over her shock and awe first and had walked across the room to open it; but as she turned the knob and pushed nothing happened. She pushed more firmly with her shoulder, but the door wouldn't budge. She stepped back from the door in puzzlement and shrugged at the others. Hermione tried the door as well, but it still wouldn't open. Needless to say it was a hopeless endeavor.
Luna, who had gone to inspect the pensieve asked, "What's this for?"
Harry had no idea what it was doing in the room but replied all the same.
"It's a pensieve. You put thoughts and memories into it and can see them. I've been in it a few times in Dumbledore's office."
"In it?" asked Neville, intrigued but sounding a little nervous.
"Yes," Harry said, walking over to the magical object, "you just stick your head in and…," he made a slurping sound to emphasize his point, "You're sucked into the memory so you can see and experience it for yourself."
Luna's orb-like eyes widened a fraction and Neville looked even more nervous than before.
"Of course," said Hermione, "It won't hurt you. And it doesn't always do that. You said that when you saw the prophecy a ghostly figure of Trelawney just rose out of the pensieve, right?"
Harry nodded. Neville looked slightly less anxious.
"Come here!" Ginny cried in excitement. She had left to examine the dueling room.
They all hurried over to the door and looked in.
"Whoa!" Ron said in awe.
The room had a high enchanted ceiling that looked like the actual sky.
"But it is the real sky," said Hermione, "or an imitation of the sky above us. Look! There's Neptune!"
Sure enough, there was Neptune, right where it should be in early fall.
"And look here!" exclaimed Neville. He was standing behind a tall stone statue. Harry looked about the room and saw that there were objects here and there that they could hide behind when someone cast spells on someone else. Next to him stood a broken down, stone wall barrier and oak bench. A second glance of the room told him that it had once been something of a battleground. The statue Neville was standing behind had an arm broken off which lay a few feet from it next to a tattered tapestry that hung in midair. All the barriers or obstacles were positioned in strategic locations but were all in slight disrepair. Harry walked to a cleared space in the middle of the room and looked around the room again. It seemed as though it had been used many times before.
But by who? That was another question that popped into everybody's heads as they looked at the mysterious new development. Here was a dueling room, that looked like it had been used many times before, but seemed to have been abandoned for quite some time. Whoever had used it had not bothered to repair anything.
"Reparo!" Hermione said, waving her wand with the incantation. The tapestry started sowing itself together and the statue's arm lifted itself up and was magically replaced in its owner's socket.
It had been a little disturbing before. But now that things were not in disarray Harry thought the room looked quite nice.
"Here's a light switch!" Luna informed them, flipping on the lights. The stars disappeared and were replaced by an ordinary dark roof.
"And here's another one!" Ron said, switching on another one. The room changed immensely. A bright light emitted from the ceiling, making everyone shield their eyes. Harry squinted under his arm and saw…that he was looking at the sun.
Surprised, Ron flipped the switch the other direction. The sun disappeared and was replaced by a normal ceiling again; this time the lights were on.
"Awesome!" Neville cried, looking about with even more interest.
Harry grinned. The Room of Requirement had met their every need. They now had a place that gave them night and day in a building and seemingly outdoors. But they still didn't have the true outdoors to experience. Oh well, no sense in coveting what they didn't have.
And yet—why not? Hermione had suggested that they go to the Forbidden Forest and practice. Why not? They had been in there many times before; it couldn't be more dangerous in the past could it? I mean, the monsters Hagrid had brought in like Aragog and his other spider mates probably weren't in such great numbers. And Grawp wasn't there either.
Though Grawp had turned into a gentleman after a while, but at first he was a violent giant whose favorite past-time was ripping up twenty foot pine trees.
And then there weren't any enraged centaurs in this day and age either. The centaurs were perfectly peaceful. A little indifferent towards humans maybe, but peaceful all the same. Come to think of it, they could all probably take care of themselves just right in the Forbidden Forest. Werewolves they had dealt with before. And after all the creatures they had met on their quest for the horcruxes, what could be more dangerous?
Still, Harry didn't exactly like the idea of greeting danger with open arms. That would be trusting their luck to foolishness.
But it did seem to have more perks than downfalls…well, maybe later.
"Okay," he said, positioning himself in the middle of the room, "Why don't we start with a little dueling practice, just as a warm up?"
And so they started Training. They went into pairs and then switched partners, dueling for the first half-hour.
After Harry was sure they were ready for something a little more complex, he entered the Studying Room and took out a few books. Hermione riffled through them quickly and found a spell she seemed to like.
"Look at this one," she said, pointing at the page. The others leaned over her shoulder and examined the line she pointed to.
DEARMO - A mass disarming spell making the user capable of neutralizing a threat from a number of wizards by depriving them of their wands. Please note that this spell may not work on a group of particularly strong wizards and/or witches.
Say incantation 'dearmo' and make sweeping motion with your wand in the direction of those you wish to disarm.
"That'll come in handy," Ron mused, peering at the description of the mass disarming spell, "Take out quite a few of the weaker Death Eaters I'm sure, for a moment at least."
"We could summon their wands of course," said Ginny, "After they've fallen to the ground that is."
Harry nodded and then started to wonder.
"How come we haven't learned this one before?" he asked, "We should have been able to do it. I mean, all you say is 'dearmo' after all."
Hermione sighed and rolled her eyes.
"Harry," she began exasperatedly, "You've been a wizard now for six years. Haven't you learned anything?"
Harry felt his face getting a little warm, but didn't stop Hermione because he was curious as to the reason why.
Seeing that Harry wouldn't interrupt with his hot-headed-comment that were triggered by his temper, Hermione went on:
"Just like with the Avada Kadavera Curse you can't perform certain spells unless you have enough knowledge or magical ability," she looked around at them all and continued, "This is a more complex spell because, like the killing curse, it takes more energy from you. Get it?"
Harry had never thought of it like that before; spells taking part of your energy and needing a certain amount of power to be used.
Harry looked around at the others and saw that they seemed to be thinking the same thing.
Hermione seemed to have seen it too, for she sighed another exasperated sigh and picked up her wand.
"Shall we practice?" she asked, all business.
"Wait, I have another question!" Ron said, a little hesitantly.
"Yes, Ron?" Hermione said as though she were a teacher.
"Well," he said looking a little puzzled, "I have a lot of questions actually. They all have to do with this time-traveling thing and being in the past."
Everyone was quiet. Harry was sure they all had questions, but no one had voiced any as of yet. Now Ron had plucked up the courage to ask about their present situation.
"You know what's bothering me?" asked Ron, "That Sean Thomas guy."
Harry was taken aback, and judging by the other's faces they too were astonished by Ron's seemingly trivial concern.
"He looked almost exactly like Dean!" Ron cried, "But they couldn't be related."
Now Harry understood his friend's feelings. Come to think of it, Sean Thomas did look a lot like Dean; Harry had noticed it when he had first seen him!
"Yes they could," Hermione argued. Her answer too was unexpected.
"No they couldn't," said Ginny in dispute, joining in the conversation, "Dean said both his parents were muggles. And Sean Thomas is obviously a wizard."
"Maybe he didn't know that his dad was a wizard," Hermione suggested.
"How do you make that out?" said Ron hotly.
"Well," said Hermione, closing the book, "Does Dean live with his mother, father, or both?
"He—" Ron stopped, looking thoughtful, "Now that you mention it, he lives with his mum. His father disappeared I think. Yeah, Dean told me once. Or maybe they got divorced." He added as an afterthought, referring to Dean's parents.
"Mmhm," said Hermione, "You've hit it right on the head Ron."
"Huh?"
"I think it was Voldemort's doing."
"Huh?" The words came again, this time from the mouths of everyone in the room except Hermione.
"What are you talking about?" Neville asked, looking more confused about the conversation than when they had started it.
"Well, from what I've heard it seems Dean's father disappeared around the same time Voldemort was in power," Hermione pointed out, "And, since we now think he is (or was) a wizard, and we know he's missing, it's only logical to think that Voldemort had him killed for some reason."
"But what reason could that be?" asked Ginny, following the conversation more alertly than Neville.
Hermione frowned, thinking for a moment.
"I suppose…," she said, pausing, "I—it is a bit farfetched I know, but then again maybe not—but I think the Death Eaters wanted him to join their ranks."
Ron's mouth dropped open. Luna's eyes went a little wider and Neville sat up a little straighter. Ginny looked grim indeed and Harry frowned slightly.
"It's really not far fetched at all," he said, thinking, "If Thomas was a fairly good wizard I suppose Voldemort would want to have him on his side, wouldn't he?"
The room was silent once more; everyone in his or her own thoughts. Thinking about this made them think about what may be going on in the future.
"I wonder what he's up to right now?" Luna wondered aloud. No one answered. They could all imagine what Voldemort and his followers could be doing at that moment, far away in the future; and it wasn't a happy image.
Harry blinked and forced is thoughts to the back of his head.
"Come on," he said, getting to his feet and picking up his wand, "Let's start practicing that spell."
The rest of the hour was spent practicing the Dearmo Spell. It was harder than Harry had expected, disarming a number of people, and by the time nine o'clock had struck they were all tired but pleased with the nights work; though no one had successfully disarmed everyone in the room yet, but that would come with practice.
They all hurried out of the Room of Requirement and back to the common room. As they approached, the Fat Lady's portrait swung open and Lily and James stepped into the corridor. It seemed they were about to start their rounds.
"Cutting it a little close aren't you?" Lily asked when she saw them. She looked at her watch and said, "It's nine o'clock already, you'd better get into the common room quick before I hand out a detention for all of you."
"C'mon Lily," James said, smiling at the six of them, "They've only just come to Hogwarts. Give them a break."
Lily frowned a little at James and turned back to Harry and his friends.
"All right," she said, glancing in James' direction, "there won't be any detentions this time but I expect you to be in Gryffindor Tower by nine o'clock from now on."
Harry and his friends nodded and shuffled past her into the portrait hole.
As Harry closed the portrait hole he heard Lily say to James, "And I didn't do it because you asked, Potter. I gave it to them because, like you said, they're new. Not all of us are as lazy as you, you know." With that she strode briskly away and down the corridor, James on her heels.
A/N: Not quite as exciting as a few killer episodes we've had before but I suppose it's certainly interesting enough. Who liked Lily? Raise your hands and say either "Yay!" or "Nay".
Well. I'm glad to have gotten to know James and Lily better. And I hope that some people can take their characters to another level! My parting words are these: Let your imaginations roam and go wherever they may take you!
Farewell,
-EveningSongEnchantment
