i am sooooo sorry it took me so long to post. i had tons of schoolwork and was sick and stuff. and my comp was being stupid yesterday and wouldn't upload the chapter. but here it is. i promise to be better about writing. :) tomorrow's my last day of school, so i'll have alllll summer. thanks for being so understanding and thank you for all the wonderful reviews. i dedicate this to each and everyone of you. without y'all, this story would be dead.
Chapter 9

It was Saturday night and we were taking a break from our studies. I sat by the window with my face pressed against the cool glass, flinching when thunder started to boom. I was never one for thunderstorms.

"Scared Lark?" Mack teased from the couch. I didn't move as more thunder boomed and lightening smacked the ground.

"I hate storms," I whispered. Cedric came over and wrapped his arms around me. We both continued to stare out the window.

"Since when is lighting a swirling mass of pink and red?" Cedric questioned, his brow furrowed.

"It's a magical storm," Jules gasped from her seat. "We should get away from the windows guys, this could be bad." She didn't have to tell me twice. At that moment, McGonagall's voice boomed through the castle.

"All students and teachers, we are experiencing a magical storm. Please report directly to the dungeons. Heads of Houses and prefects, escort those from your house and keep things orderly. I repeat, immediately report to the dungeons." I shivered.

"Don't worry Lark," Cedric smiled encouragingly. "I know we'll be just fine." I held tighter to him, refusing to let go. He gently extracted me and took my hand, giving me a reassuring squeeze and leading me out of the common room behind Jules and Mack. We passed a worried looking Sprout who gave us a brief smile then continued directing traffic.

"Are magical storms bad?" I questioned. My parents were muggles so I was still learning about the wizarding world.

"Are you kidding me?" Jules scoffed. "They're extremely dangerous. Random spells can happen if you get caught in the wind or the lighting or anything. That's why we're going to the dungeons. It's the safest place." I whimpered. Hey, I never called myself brave.

"So all of Hogwarts could be put under a spell?" I asked.

"Potentially, yes," Mack nodded. "But that would take a big bolt of lightening. So unless Hogwarts is hit with multiple strikes at the same time, which I might add is highly unlikely, then nothing will happen to us." I noticed that Cedric had stayed quiet during this conversation. We turned right at the entrance hall and went down several flights of steps until we reached the damp interior of the dungeons. Teachers were directing the different years of different houses to specific rooms. We were placed in the room next to the Potion's room.

"Are you all right Cedric?" I could tell something was wrong.

"I lost my grandmother to a magical storm," he answered softly. "I was outside, transfixed because I'd never seen one before. She came to save me and was struck by lightening. I never saw her again. I was only seven." His voice grew softer.

"Oh Cedric," I threw my arms around him. We just stood there in the corner of the room, holding onto each other while the wind howled outside. Our room was filled with idle chatter but neither Cedric nor I talked. Moody was with us, his magical eye swiveling around the room. That eye always creeped me out and I felt like he could see inside my mind with it. That thought alone was unnerving. The room fell silent as we heard the storm above us. Cedric held me closer as the rain pounded and the wind thundered. It reminded me of the old war videos I'd seen where the places were bombed. I was shivering uncontrollably with fright. Suddenly, the storm fell ominously quiet, followed by a loud bang. A flash of light sped through the room and I found myself spinning in the air. Cedric and I landed on the floor with a thump. I rolled over onto my back, panting. Everywhere around me was dark and there wasn't a soul in sight.

"Cedric," I whispered. "What just happened?" He shook his head, silver eyes darting around at his surroundings.

"I think…I think we're in the Great Hall." He stood and helped me to my feet. We looked around. It was the Great Hall, but the house tables were overturned and broken and the house flags were tattered. One of the windows was smashed and the enchanted ceiling showed nothing but gray stone.

"The magical storm," I gasped. "It sent us here. You said there was nothing to worry about!" I turned to him, to desperate and upset.

"All right, I was wrong," he answered, which wasn't what I wanted to hear.

"Cedric!" I wailed. "What are we going to do?"

"I don't know Lark," he buried his face in his hands. "I don't know." Again, not the answer I wanted. I threw myself at him and sobbed. I wasn't good during a crisis, and this was definitely a crisis.

"What if we never see Mack and Jules again?" I whispered once I stopped crying. "What if we can never get back?"

"Don't talk like that Lark," Cedric rubbed my back soothingly. "We have to stay positive. We'll find a way out of this. Besides, the others were bound to be hit by a spell also." He had a point there. I sighed, burying my face in his shirt. I felt his chest rise and fall with his breathing and could hear his heart beating. It would have been a cherished moment if we weren't lost in some alternate universe.

"Why do you suppose Hogwarts looks like this?"

"I have no idea Lark. Maybe this is the future. Or maybe it's the past, back when You Know Who reigned." Either way, it was scary. Cedric pulled away from me, taking my hand.

"Let's go check this place out," he said, guiding me out the door into the Entrance Hall. I gasped at the sight. All the portraits that had once adorned the walls were no ripped and lying on the floor. The suits of armor were in pieces, scattered down the hall. The Main Staircase was crumbled in the middle. I begged this to not be the future.

"Cedric," I grasped his hand tighter. "I'm scared."

"Me too," he admitted.

"You normally say the right thing, but tonight you're all wrong," I glared. He shrugged innocently. We heard a rustling from our right, causing both of us to jump.

"You stepped on my foot Mack!" I heard Jules yell.

"Shh, I think I see someone over there." They came forward, relief on their faces when they saw it was us.

"I'm so glad you two are ok!" I threw my arms around Jules in a hug.

"Ok, enough love," Mack rolled his eyes. "We need to figure out how to get back home. If we can get back home that is."

"Don't talk like that!" Cedric warned. "You'll scare Lark."

"I'm not a wuss Cedric," I glared. "But I appreciate the concern." He smiled at me. I felt all warm and fuzzy inside, despite the situation. A low growling sound was heard behind us. Jules and I ran behind the guys.

"Protect us!" we squealed in unison.

"Not a wuss Lark?" Cedric smirked. I looked away innocently. "I'm sure it's just a stray dog." At that point, the growling animal appeared. It was a large gray werewolf. Its eyes were glowing red and it was foaming at the mouth.

"Stray dog?" I squeaked. "More like rabid!" The wolf ventured forward growling viciously.

"Cedric, what do we do?" Jules whimpered.

"I vote we run," he answered.

"I second that vote!" Mack agreed.

"But what if it catches us?" I questioned.

"Better than staying here," Mack said. "Run!" I turned and fled, not looking back. I was flying past the dungeons, the torch brackets cold and empty. I couldn't see where I was going, and as a result, I ran right into the stone wall at the end of the hallway. The world spun and everything went dark.

My head was pounding and I heard voices above me. I see light through my closed eyelids. The events of the day came flooding back to me and I bristled with fear. Slowly and cautiously, I opened my eyes. Staring down at me were three men and a woman, dressed in rags and looking extremely hassled.

"She's awake," the woman whispered. "Fenrir, what do we do with her?" Fenrir…Greyback? My fear heightened.

"Take her wand and put her with the boy," Fenrir's hoarse voice responded. I felt my wand taken from my pocket and was hoisted over a beefy man's shoulders. He opened a door and threw me into the darkness. A lone candle stood on a table in the middle of the room.

"Lark?" I whipped around and was met with an encouraging sight.

"Cedric!" I threw myself into his arms and cried. "Cedric, Fenrir Greyback is in there!"

"I know Lark," he answered softly. "We'll be all right, so just calm down. I don't think he wants to hurt us.

"Not want to hurt us? Haven't your heard the stories Cedric! He lives to take revenge on humans."

"Perhaps in the past, but this has to be the future."

"What makes you say that?"

"Because one of the men in there is Mack." I pulled back from him to study his face, which was set with seriousness.

"Mack?" I whispered in disbelief. He nodded.

"He was conferring with Greyback when they brought me in here. I don't think he saw me though."

"But wouldn't that mean Mack became a werewolf?"

"It's a possibility. I'm more worried about Jules and our Mack right now though." I let out a sigh and snuggled against Cedric.

"What have we gotten ourselves into?" Cedric shook his head and held me closer. The door opened and Greyback appeared, staring down at us.

"I have a few questions for you," he said quietly. "If you answer, you'll be safe. And don't lie to me, I can do legilimency." I looked to Cedric who nodded while staring intently at Greyback.

"How did you get here?"

"A magical storm hit us," Cedric responded.

"How many of you are there?"

"Four to our knowledge."

"Names."

"I'm Cedric and this is Lark. We saw our friends Jules and Mack before we were chased by a werewolf."

"My apologies for the chase, we just aren't used to visitors, only intruders." The little room fell silent as Greyback studied each of us.

"Do you have any idea where your other two friends are?"

"No. We lost them in the chase."

"I sense you have questions also. I will tell you what I can."

"Where are we?" Cedric asked.

"Hogwarts. After the war it was destroyed and never rebuilt. Our species made it our home to hide from the Death Eaters that escaped punishment. They never forgave us for turning on their master during the final battle. He taught us how to turn into werewolves by choice and we used it against You Know Who to greatly injure him. It was then that Harry Potter defeated him for good."

"What do you plan to do with us?" I blurted out. Greyback turned his eyes to me.

"Protect you and perhaps help you return home. We have no plans to harm you in anyway. You are Hogwarts students I presume?"

"From the past, yes," Cedric answered.

"I am sorry that we handled you so harshly. We had to until we knew we could trust you. Sending in kids to kill us is not below a Death Eater. Please accept my apologies and join us outside." Cedric stood and helped me to my feet. He held my hand as we followed Greyback out of the room and into a brightly lit study. The beefy man was entering from the other side of the room. His hands were gripped firmly on Jules' arms as she struggled to get away from him.

"Let me go!" she yelled, fighting against his restraint.

"Jules!" I called. She looked over.

"Lark!" she called back. Greyback signaled and the man dropped her. She ran over to us.

"So this is your other friend?" Greyback questioned.

"Who are you?" Jules spat.

"He's going to help us get back to Hogwarts Jules, so stop fighting," I replied. She gave me a doubtful look, but remained silent.

"It's like seeing a ghost." A tall man stepped out of the shadows. He looked to be in his early twenties and indeed was Mack. "Three ghosts in fact. I haven't seen you three since we graduated." His voice was softer than it had been at Hogwarts and his face was weathered as though hard times had fallen on him.

"Mack?" Jules whispered. He looked at her fondly and nodded.

"I was bitten by a werewolf when we snuck into the woods together, but it appears that hasn't happened yet. You seem so shocked to see me hanging around with other werewolves."

"Who's this 'we' that snuck into the woods?" Jules had become her bold self again. Mack laughed and his eyes twinkled.

"You'll find out soon enough," he replied, smirking. Jules pouted, she hated secrets. The door burst open yet again, and the beefy guy walked in behind the younger Mack.

"Bloody hell," he gasped when he saw himself. "I'm old!"

"I am not!" Older Mack glared. "I'm only 27."

"He looks good," Jules whispered to me.

"I know!" I replied. Cedric raised an eyebrow at us both as we looked away innocently.

"Fenrir," the woman called. "A magical storm is approaching!" I immediately latched on to Cedric. Greyback looked at us.

"Perhaps this is your chance to return home," he said.

"But what if it sends us into another dimension or something? Honestly, what are the chances it will take us home?" Jules demanded. The older Mack took her hand, causing Jules to blush furiously. The younger Mack glared at his future self.

"If a magical storm is what sent you here, another one will send you back. If you go through two in a twenty four hour period, the effects of the first are reversed by the second," he told her.

"You're positive?"

"Absolutely." Jules nodded, seeming to feel that his word was enough. He led us into the entrance hall and out the door. I clung tighter to Cedric as the win whipped around us and the purple lightening flashed.

"This is where I leave you," Older Mack shouted above the roar of the storm. "All of you be careful." I saw tears well up in Jules eyes as she ran over and hugged him goodbye. Both Mack's had a shocked expression on their faces as Jules pulled away.

"Thank you," she said. Cedric nodded his thanks for the both of us, seeing as I was still too scared to move. We walked towards the storm, waiting for it to take us home. The storm became louder as we continued walking towards it.

"This is it." Cedric's voice was barely audible above the storm. There was a blinding flash of light and we were sent spinning through time and space yet again. We landed with a thump on a stone wall. I could still feel Cedric's arms around me, which was a relief in itself. I slowly opened my eyes and was met with the sight of the Great Hall, intact and exactly as it had been this morning.

"We're home!" I screeched, jumping to my feet. Cedric grinned at me from the ground.

"I guess Mack was right," he answered. I made a face.

"When do you ever hear that sentence?" I questioned. Cedric gave out a booming laugh.

"Absolutely never," he replied, standing up.

"I heard that!" Cedric and I burst out laughing as our Mack pouted at us.

"Oh hush Mack, you know they're right," Jules brushed dirt of her skirt.

"And what was up with you and my future self?" Mack demanded. Jules cocked and eyebrow.

"Jealous?"

"Of course not he's me."

"Not quite. He's much more sensitive and manly."

"It's me in the future!"

"You can't be positive that's what's going to happen to you."

"So you would date me in the future then?"

"I never said that."

"You know you want me Jules."

Cedric and I exchanged a look and left the bickering friends where they were. It was proof that Mack had finally gotten over whatever he was upset about. And I knew that deep down, Jules really did like Mack. Her jealousy, our fights, the way she had acted around the future Mack, were all proof of that. Cedric took my hand as we headed down to the dungeons so that the teachers would know we were all right.

"You know Lark," Cedric looked at me. "This whole…thing has really made me appreciate things more."

"Philosophical journey?" I questioned.

"No. I've realized how much I care about you. And that I always need to stay better looking than Mack. I mean, did you see his future self?" I rolled my eyes.

"I saw Cedric."

"And what did you think?"

"I think you heard what Jules and I both thought."

"But you like me better, right?" Was this a non confident Cedric? I looked him square in the eye.

"Do you see me with Mack?" I questioned. He shook his head. "Then who do you think I like better?"

"Well the older Mack was-" I cut him off with a kiss.

"Cedric, I don't care what the older Mack looked like. I love you for who you are. Your good lucks are just a bonus." He grinned at me.

"I'm allowed to be insecure at times too." His cheeks turned pink. I smiled and kissed him again.

"You're too much at times," I said. He frowned. "You're just doing that for another kiss."

"Is it working?"

"No." Cedric pouted and we continued towards the dungeons. We saw a mass of teachers conferring in the middle of the hall.

"Turnings, Diggory!" Sprout came rushing forwards. "Thank goodness you're all right. The magical storm caused some trouble. Do you have any idea where Jules and Mack are?"

"Arguing in the Great Hall," I replied. "Don't worry, we're fine."

"Where were you sent?" McGonagall asked.

"Future Hogwarts," Cedric answered. "It was…interesting."

"Off to your common room then." McGonagall dismissed us with a sweep of her hands. We turned heel and left. Once in the common room, we were bombarded with questions about the storm and where it had sent us. We told pretty much everything, except the part about Mack being there and being a werewolf.

"Were you and Cedric married in the future?" A fourth year girl asked me. I felt my face go red and looked over to see Cedric grinning.

"I haven't the faintest idea," I answered honestly. She looked disappointed. Eventually everyone got tired and went to bed so that there only a few of the older students left. Cedric and I sat on the couch by the fire, staring into it in complete silence.

"Lizzie's a hopeless romantic, eh?" Cedric finally broke the silence.

"Who's Lizzie?"

"The fourth year who asked if we were married."

"Oh."

"It wouldn't be so bad if we were. I'd finally get some action." I shoved him off the couch.

"That had better not be the only reason you would ever want to marry me Diggory," I threatened. He grabbed my hand and pulled me down on top of him.

"You know it isn't," he said, kissing me gently.

"It's hard to stay mad at you when you do that so well," I sighed. He grinned mischievously.

"I know," was the reply.