1. Thanks a lot to SnowBear17 for helping me beta this story.
2. Any error here is mine and not from my reviewer. If you spot anything or have a doubt about the grammar used or plot just PM me, I'm always swift to answer.
3. I am updating the way in which I decide which chapters of which stories to write next. See my profile for more info.
4. I know info in profile hasn't moved there in a two weeks but that's because I've had tons of work. But no worry, next chapter for Ron's story is almost done.
5. I opened a forum here for my stories, if people want to join for updates, discussion or general stuff. It's at myforums/Jon-Riptide/4332391/
6. I also have a twitter account that I'm going to use for similar purposes. Account is TimeTravelFFics
7. Thanks for the reviews so far and enjoy.
The next morning, everyone at the Burrow woke up in a jittery mood. It was not precisely a sense that something bad was going to happen, but a rather weird mix of anticipation and cautiousness.
Depending on how the meeting went with Professor Dumbledore, their situation could be drastically different by the end of the day. The headmaster could have decided to help them with their father's situation, or he could just as well do the opposite, leaving the Weasleys officially out of the Order of the Phoenix.
Hugo wasn't sure how that could play out, but he imagined it would only complicate things if Dumbledore did so.
Breakfast was a silent affair, and way too early for Hugo's taste. Only Rose and his grandparents were there because all of his uncles had left to their respective tasks. The twins must have been setting things up at the joke shop already, but they were going to close early since they didn't want to miss the meeting with the headmaster. Uncle Bill had reached out to his Aunt Etna and would be sorting out the house deal as Hugo ate his bacon.
At Hugo's side, Rose was lost in thought. She wanted to do something about their father as much as Hugo, the boy knew that. However, she favoured the plans that followed a proper adherence to the rules.
For obvious reasons, Hugo hadn't told her about the twins' offer yet.
"Everything will be alright," said Hugo's grandmother firmly at some point. "Your grandfather and I won't agree to anything that endangers you two or Ron."
"Thank you, Grandma."
"No need to thank me, Rose. I'm your grandmother, it's my duty to look after you."
Rose beamed at her.
"Just so you're aware, our position is simple," added Hugo's grandfather after a quick sip from his tea. "We want you and Ron safe. No deluminator. No memories erased. We're willing to surrender the Time-Turner if it helps our case. And we will also give our word that we will not change the future more than needed. We'll see about the mission, though."
Hugo's grandmother snorted, clearly she still wasn't pleased about the mission.
"And if we're lucky we might get Remus to teach you while we figure out how to return you to your time."
"Sounds fair," said Hugo.
It wasn't all that the boy wanted, but it was certainly all that they needed. He couldn't really see how they could get more out of the headmaster, after all. Hopefully, the old man would agree to their grandfather's terms without too much trouble.
If not, the twins would be willing to help. The thought came suddenly, yet Hugo dismissed it at once. There was no point of thinking about alternatives before the initial plan was ruled out.
Rose smiled widely and nodded. "We're sorry for causing so much of a hassle. I know it must be difficult, as you barely know us and we've put you all in such a tough spot. But I wanted to say that we really appreciate all of this."
"Your mistakes are in the past now. And we Weasleys deal with problems as a family."
The words from his grandparents relaxed Hugo. He knew that they would always help him and his sister, no matter what happened. It made a huge difference to have them on their side.
Hugo thought of his muggle grandparents as well, his mother's parents that was. They were also very kind and Hugo loved spending time with them. However, the boy realized that there was no way he could see them in the foreseeable future. They would totally freak out with the whole time travelling situation, especially Grandpa Robert who would just ramble on about how that sort of thing only happened in the movies. Maybe they wouldn't even believe Hugo and Rose. After all, it took him a while to get over all of the spells Hugo's father used behind his mother's back at their last camping trip.
It was a weird combination, Hugo's grandparents. Arthur Weasley and Robert Granger were certainly different, but they shared some things for sure. Both of them were greatly amazed by each other's world, and whenever they got together Hugo enjoyed their comical exchanges. Hugo's father would usually go nuts trying to prevent one from using muggle devices the wrong way while explaining to the other how cushioning charms worked on broomsticks.
It was silly really, how one remembered the small details of family gatherings once they changed forever.
As they moved toward the living room, Hugo's grandparents gave them some last encouraging words for the day. Rose had barely said that they were all set when the front door opened, Uncle Bill hurrying in.
"It's ready, let's go. Fleur is waiting for us there," he said.
Hugo was surprised at how quickly this was moving. His grandfather and Uncle Bill had insisted on having the meeting that day, since it being a Sunday made things easier for them. Still, the house deal must have been all but done already if Uncle Bill was able to sort it out so fast.
Rose and Hugo said their goodbyes, and their grandparents promised to let them know as soon as the meeting was over. Then, they were out of the house.
o0o0o
Hugo had never really liked side-along apparition. It was a nasty sensation, as if someone had grabbed him by the guts and pulled him inward, just to kick him out recklessly somewhere else. Even so, as soon as the fresh smell of the sea reached his nostrils, the boy relaxed somehow even though he still felt a bit queasy.
In the future, it was always a fun experience to spend some time at Uncle Bill's house. It wasn't that big, but it being far away from any other place made it feel as if the very sea belonged to its yard.
Playing Quidditch with the sea breeze whipping against his face was something else entirely. Although, the whimsical rush of the wind made finding the snitch quite a difficult and unpredictable task.
"It evens the playing field, having Al struggle as much as the non-quidditch players do," his cousin Louis would say.
He was right of course. Al wasn't the next Viktor Krum by any means, but he had finally made it to the Quidditch team last year. He had the advantage of being one of the few people in the family who knew how to play as a Seeker.
On the other hand, Louis Weasley struggled quite a bit whenever he was on a broom. He was the youngest son of Uncle Bill and Aunt Fleur, and a rather bookish bloke who only played Quidditch with the family. He didn't like the idea of embarrassing himself in school, something Hugo could understand. He was one of James' closest friends, which was a group where three out of four of the members were cousins.
The relationship Hugo had with Louis' sisters wasn't as close, though. Victoire was way older than him and had finished her years at Hogwarts by the time Hugo started there. And while Dominique was younger and had a good relationship with Rose, she was also way older than Hugo.
It could be that Hugo wouldn't be able to see any of them again.
As they followed Uncle Bill by the shore, the only thing disrupting the calm noise of the sea was the crushing sound of their steps on the dry leaves littering the ground. Even so, it wasn't a long walk. After a short distance of walking by dry bushes and sand, Hugo spotted the small hill where Uncle Bill's house was supposed to be standing. The odd thing was that there was no house in sight, and the wind seemed to race through the area unchallenged.
"You did put all of the charms in place," Rose said in awe.
"I did tell you I was fast with those," Uncle Bill said playfully. "You know about the house already, so I guess I don't need to tell you about it for the Fidelius to let you in."
Rose and Hugo nodded.
As if on cue, the air seemed to bend around them with their next step, and then suddenly the familiar Shell Cottage appeared in the distance before them. At least Hugo didn't have to throw rocks at an invisible barrier this time.
"It's nice, isn't it? To be able to cross without landing on your arse," Hugo said thoughtfully, teasing his sister.
"Very funny."
Uncle Bill didn't say a thing, but he couldn't hide the smile that crept onto his face.
From the outside, the house looked exactly as Hugo remembered it to be, though it surely didn't have Dobby the elf's grave in its yard. Nevertheless, once the door opened, Hugo saw how void and dirty it actually was.
The wood creaked loudly, and the light coming through the torn-up curtains made all of the particles of dust in the air stand out. Most of the furniture didn't even seem like it could stand their weight without breaking apart.
"Woah, this place is falling into shambles," he said.
"Hugo!" Rose scolded him, frowning at him.
"Sorry, Uncle Bill."
"Oh, no worries. I know some parts of this look like a pile of rubbish, but I bought the place for the location, not for the furniture. The bad state of this place was actually a good thing because it made the buy practically a steal."
Rose smirked as they went inside. "I think a few handy spells here and there and it'll be in fairly good shape," the girl remarked.
"For sure. It's going to take a while to get it up to its full potential, though. But, I'm lucky to have a niece and nephew who have a whole day free to help me clean." Smiling, Uncle Bill twirled his wand, almost taunting them.
And that was how Hugo realized that he wouldn't have much time to think about Professor Dumbledore's meeting because he was going to be too busy cleaning piles of rubbish.
"But we're underage, we can't use magic," Hugo whined.
"It's good that I have some handy cleaning cloths around here, then," announced Uncle Bill, a mischievous grin on his face as he sentenced them to their task.
At the kitchen, they saw Aunt Fleur, who was already in full gear throwing reparos and scourgifys around. She didn't look upset about the state of the house, rather, quite the opposite. Hugo would have said that she looked rather excited about the possibilities of fixing and decorating the place from the ground up.
Hugo could see it too. He was good at imagining spaces and had the advantage of having seen their house in the future already. So, as the boy skimmed through the empty rooms and falling shelves, he pictured its finished look overlapped on the rusty skeleton that was the current house.
That was the only fun part of it.
They spent the entire morning cleaning. Uncle Bill went through the house's facade trying to find any structural damage to repair, while Aunt Fleur fixed the larger pieces of broken furniture inside. Both of them enjoyed the use of magic, a privilege that Hugo and his sister didn't have.
Thinking he had more dust on his face than freckles now, Hugo was shocked to discover that they hadn't made much progress at all after hours of cleaning by hand. Between his efforts and those of his sister, they had barely managed to clean one of the smaller rooms. But at least that room didn't look like a rat's nest anymore.
He thought for a moment that Louis should be thanking him for cleaning up his room, but then Hugo remembered that he might not be seeing Louis again and put the thought away.
"You were freaking out," Rose said at lunch, chuckling as they ate some sandwiches on the kitchen counter. The old table was in no shape to be useful, let alone support the sandwiches' weight.
"I was not," Hugo whined in protest.
Moments earlier they had found some spiders, and Hugo might have overreacted. Only slightly, though.
"You were asking me to throw a reducto at them," Rose added, suppressing a laugh. Uncle Bill was almost choking behind them, as he had been biting into his sandwich when he started laughing.
"It was just a small request-"
"Hugo, I can't use magic, remember? Besides, the blasting spell is hardly the way to deal with a few one-inch spiders."
"One more thing he has in common with Ron," announced Uncle Bill after he recovered his footing.
It was something Hugo had definitely inherited from his father, more on the behaviour side than anything genetic. But how could a boy grow up seeing his much bigger father scared of spiders without developing some sort of fear for the pesky animals as well?
At the counter everyone was silent for another mouthful, the mention of Hugo's father still lingering in the air. It seemed as if the previous joyful reactions were replaced with thoughtful looks all around.
"I wonder what he's doing now," Hugo said, voicing his thoughts without really meaning to.
"Eetz Sunday, 'e must be in ze grounds, wiz 'arry and your mozer," Aunt Fleur guessed.
"Most likely," agreed Uncle Bill.
"Eetz still 'ard to believe,'' continued Aunt Fleur. "Zat 'arry defeated 'im. 'e must be more famous in your time."
"They all are! We even had to go undercover for the Quidditch World Cup!" Rose complained.
At first, she turned afraid of having accidentally revealed more about the future, but she ended up deciding that it wasn't a big deal. After all, there was no unexpected information there.
Hugo was glad to have Uncle Bill and Aunt Fleur on their side as well, even if he wasn't sure if he would be able to see their children again. The four of them went on talking about Quidditch and the Triwizard Tournament for an hour or so, until Uncle Bill decided it was time to return to cleaning.
"Come on, I'll save you if another one of those fiendish spiders shows up," Rose offered, smirking.
Frowning at his sister, Hugo made his way back upstairs.
o0o0o
It was strange, but something had changed after lunch. Maybe it was the mention of their father at lunch, but Hugo and Rose barely exchanged a word after it. Rose looked entirely focused on her task. Her sleeves were rolled up and her big red hair was pulled back. Hugo noticed just how lost her blue eyes seemed. She was surely thinking the same thing as him. That meeting was taking far too long.
Eventually, Uncle Bill returned and called it a day, so Hugo and Rose went outside for a walk. Their uncle told them not to go too far away, since the Fidelius charm had its limits.
After inspecting their surroundings and deciding everything was as they expected it to be, the siblings headed to the shore and sat a few yards away from the moving sea. For a long time they didn't say a word, enjoying the sound of the waves splashing against the wet sand.
"I always loved this place. It's peaceful," he said.
Rose nodded. "It is, though it makes my hair a bigger mess than it already is."
It was true, her ponytail looked more like a big, round tangle of red hair than usual. Hugo grinned as he watched her struggle with it a bit more, but she just couldn't put it into a presentable ponytail.
"Argh! I give up!" she said at last, letting her hair stay loose. It was still a mess, and now it brushed against her face from time to time. But Rose didn't seem to care anymore.
The sky was starting to become streaked with orange, which gave Hugo a nice feeling. Orange was a good colour.
"I miss Dom. I miss all of them," Rose said suddenly.
"Me too. Do you think Dumbledore will be able to send us back?"
"I don't know Hugo. I'm not even sure if we would arrive at our old future or the future to this new reality."
Hugo's eyebrows lifted in surprise. "You think we've changed things already?"
"Of course we have! The smallest of changes is enough to make a whole new future, and Dumbledore knows that. He's not stupid."
"Then why is he doing all of this?"
"I reckon he knows some things will change, even if we left right now. He just wants to control the parts related to the war as much as possible."
Hugo stared at the orange sky above the sea, wondering what Dumbledore's plan was. There was no way the headmaster could reach them when they were so far away from the Burrow and under the Fidelius charm. He never planned on setting a trap, which made his proposal much more intriguing.
"It's taking too long."
Rose sighed, rolling her eyes at Hugo's impatience. "The meeting didn't start as soon as we left. They still had to set a time. It's to be expected that they haven't sent word yet."
If there was a good place to wait for news, it was the shore. Hugo still felt nervous in a way, yet the constant sound of the waves crashing against some nearby rocks soothed his anxiety to some degree.
"I'm sure Grandpa wouldn't agree to it if it wasn't a good thing," said Rose after some time, staring ahead at the waves.
"Guess so," answered Hugo in a lazy voice.
"Mum won't let him agree if it isn't," a third voice said calmly behind them. Turning in surprise, they saw that it was Uncle Bill.
Standing at their backs, he looked quite different. The young man was tall and handsome, and his bright red hair moved gracefully in the wind. The absence of the scars on his face gave his appearance an air of youth that his personality usually had. Rose and Hugo smiled at him as he crouched down behind them, the bands and amulets on his wrists in plain sight.
Together the three of them stared at the sea, surely thinking about the same thing.
"You were right. I already love this place," the young man said with a grin.
"Told you," Rose said smugly, her eyes still set on the sea.
"You know, I think I'm going to like you two. Maybe even more than I like your parents," he added, laughing. "Am I a... good uncle in the future?"
"The best," said Rose. She smiled widely, finally turning to their uncle as a playful strand of curly, red hair hit her in the eye.
"Good to know. I'm here for whatever you need, I hope you know. I was a bit shaken at first, and I do believe that you did wrong, but now that you're here I am on your side. I won't let anything bad happen to Ron or you."
Hugo felt very happy hearing those words, as if his burden had suddenly become lighter. Having Uncle Bill on their side made it feel as if there was no task they couldn't accomplish.
Uncle Bill took a breath before talking again. "Rose, I was thinking earlier, when you said you couldn't do magic. You'll be seventeen soon, right?"
Hugo's sister was mildly surprised by that. "Why, yes. But, I'm not sure if I'll be able to do magic out of school. Not sure how that works, with the travel to the past and all."
The young man was trying to make up his mind about something. "It's called the Trace," he said after a moment. "It's placed on all wands so the Ministry can be alerted if the user performs any magic. It lifts automatically once the owner turns seventeen. I have absolutely no idea how that would work in your case, though. I'm no wand expert."
The Trace. That was new information. Hugo turned to his own wand, trying to see if there was anything pointing to an invisible lock or something there. At his side, Rose frowned, as if trying to process it. The girl was about to ask their uncle something about it when a sudden flash of light caught them off guard.
The shining source of light was white and blue, and it came floating towards them gracefully. At moments it was hopping and at others almost flying. Once it reached them, Uncle Bill stood up as the shape of the light became clearer. The light was a Patronus, in the form of a weasel.
"We're done. They left already, bring Rose and Hugo," said the weasel with the calm voice of Hugo's grandfather. Then, it rushed away, through the yellow bushes until it faded, blue and white dots of light melting in the sunset air.
Hugo exchanged a worried look with Rose and Uncle Bill. However, the young man smiled reassuringly at them. "Don't worry, Patronuses can't be faked. Let's go get Fleur."
o0o0o
They hurried back to the cottage as fast as they could, where they told Aunt Fleur everything in the message. Uncle Bill went to the Burrow first, as an extra precaution, but he was soon back, telling them that the place was safe. Once again, Hugo got the dreadful feeling from the side-along apparition, but before he knew it the smell of the sea was gone.
Uncles Fred and George were in the living room, trying to hide their playful grins without much success. Hugo's grandparents were there as well, looking pretty relaxed themselves. There were no signs of Albus Dumbledore or Professor McGonagall.
"Take a seat. Sorry for the delay, but Albus and Minerva didn't arrive until after lunch," their grandfather began.
"How did it go?" Uncle Bill asked at once, choosing to remain on his feet.
"We heard the proposal, and it's a good one. Better than expected."
"Is that so?" asked their uncle suspiciously.
Hugo's grandmother nodded with a half-smile.
"Good old Professor Dumbledore is in a hurry," said one of the twins.
"In a hurry? I don't get it," Hugo said, wrinkling his forehead. At his side, Rose looked just as lost.
"Two new beds appeared at the Gryffindor tower on Friday, and the school records have been modified," Hugo's grandfather said, as if those phrases explained it all.
"Two beds?" asked Uncle Bill, in a state of surprise. Next to him, Rose and Hugo showed similar signs of shock.
"The school is sensing Rose and Hugo in some way. Albus confused Hogwarts' records to show different names, but the beds keep returning every time he vanishes them."
Magical beds popping up out of nowhere? Hugo wasn't really following the conversation at all. What did some beds at Hogwarts have to do with the headmaster's proposal?
Uncle Bill and Aunt Fleur seemed to have a better idea though. "He doesn't really plan to—" his uncle started, dumbfounded. "He wouldn't, he should have better options."
Hugo's grandfather smiled wryly. "He doesn't. Not if he wants to stop the Ministry, and eventually Voldemort, from asking one too many questions. Albus can't just pull two students out of his hat, try as he might."
"What about polyjuice?"
"Apparently he doesn't want two adults passing as students in his school, and besides, the potion takes a long time to make and is very costly. The Order needs it and the money for other affairs."
"This changes everything..." Uncle Bill said softly.
"It sure does."
Hugo scratched his head, still completely lost. "I don't get it. Two extra beds at Hogwarts? Is this because of us? How is he going to... He's not thinking that we...?" Hugo started, looking at his sister.
"I think he is," said Rose, still shocked. A large smile suddenly appeared on her face at this realization.
"'e needs zem," said Fleur.
Hugo's grandfather nodded. "That is partly why Minerva was here, she has been informed of everything. Anyway, they want you two to go to Hogwarts under false identities."
"Going back to Hogwarts? With Mum and Dad?" asked Hugo incredulously. He still couldn't believe it, he'd thought it was going to be much more complicated.
"Yes, but they want you to promise that you won't tell them anything in order to keep the future as intact as possible. He has been very troubled about all of this. He promised to check on the deluminator and take it out of the mission, he is—"
Hugo's grandmother snorted derisively, crossing her arms. "Again with that stupid mission! I didn't agree with that part, and I never will."
"We'll see about that later, sweetheart. At least he promised to keep the deluminator out of it, so Rose and Hugo won't really need to contact their parents," the man said to his wife. He then turned back to his grandchildren. "You would have to stay at Hogwarts or Shell Cottage during the holidays. However, if we can't send you back by the end of the war, we can tell your parents everything. He wants the Time-Turner, though."
Rose and Hugo stared at each other with troubled expressions. It looked like a fair proposal. It didn't just save their father, but it was also the best option in regards to keeping the future unchanged. Still, it was complicated for them. How could they spend so much time that close to the people they loved without talking to them? Without a hug from their father?
"I know what this means to you, but it's definitely better than what we expected."
"Even better if we can put a few products in your trunks..." one of the twins said, winking at them.
"Fred! This is serious!"
"There's something that's still worrying me," interrupted Uncle Bill. "How are we sure Dumbledore will keep their word about the deluminator, or that Rose and Hugo will be safe there?"
"Minerva is on our side and he can't just ignore those beds," said Hugo's grandfather soberly. "We'll sort it out, we still have some points to clarify with him."
"What points?" asked Uncle Bill curiously.
"He wanted our memories erased while the war was still happening, but we refused. Our memories are our main leverage. That was mostly our main concern, and I think that Minerva is with us on that matter. Albus said he would think about it."
"Surely he has to agree. He needs them on those two beds if he doesn't want any questions asked."
The argument continued, so Rose and Hugo hesitantly admitted that Hogwarts would be under Voldemort's control after Dumbledore's death, and that would compromise them either way. Everybody was shocked, especially Hugo's grandmother, but after trying to ask more about it, Hugo's grandfather stopped her. He said he would also mention it to the headmaster since they needed to guarantee Rose and Hugo's safety.
More points were discussed, but by the end of the day, everybody had agreed with the plan. If the headmaster accepted their petitions, they would go forward with it. Hugo was terrified, though. He didn't know what seeing his father again would feel like, especially since he would barely even be allowed to look at him, much less talk to him. What if he spoke to them? What would they say, what would they do?
Hugo noticed his sister was troubled as well. She appeared to be excited, but also quite worried. Too many things could go wrong, they knew. Hugo also wondered what would happen if they broke some of the rules. Not intentionally, but if they got found out by accident. How would Dumbledore react to that?
With those worries in mind, they went to bed, falling into a fitful sleep. Hugo had a nightmare that night. It was about his parents and Uncle Harry chasing him around the school while he ran away from them, desperately trying not to tell them the truth. In the dream, Dumbledore ended up deciding that Hugo had broken his side of the deal, so he vanished them away. Rose was sent to a different place and Hugo screamed for her, but then out of nowhere, he saw his father dying again, despite all of their efforts to keep him alive.
Hugo woke up, sweating as his heart pounded. It was an awful nightmare and he wasn't used to them either. It took a long while to get back to sleep, and even then, it was a restless one.
The next morning, breakfast was mostly silent. His grandfather had left early to talk to the headmaster, and everyone's thoughts were wondering about it. It wasn't until an hour later that his grandfather returned. At once, everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to him, anxious looks on their faces. It took Hugo only a glimpse at his grandfather's smile to know what was going to happen.
"He accepted," his grandfather said, grinning at them. "You're going to Hogwarts."
- Hopefully, I managed to give as much as a good idea of how is Hugo in these last 2 chaps as I did with Rose at the beginning. Now it's time to move the story forward.
