HARRY POTTER
He was waiting for Ron and others to come back before starting the next year's memories. But his best friend asked all five time-travelers to join him for a moment. Once all six had stepped to one side of the room, he looked at Ron.
"What happened? Did Arthur, Bill, and Charlie say something?"
Ron shook his head.
"No. I wanted to discuss about passing on the heir rings today. Our previous plan to start them in the second year is of no use now, and we cannot delay any longer. As Heir's of our houses, they will be able to do much more."
He was still thinking about his friend's words when Hermione spoke up in a hesitant tone.
"They are still young, do we really..."
Tracey gasped her wife's hand, rubbing it to calm her down.
"We know, love. But some of them have never had an ideal childhood. And by the end of this school year, the time of peace will be over, no matter what we do."
He looked at his wife and Sue, their group's House matters experts. Sue just shrugged.
"I agree with him. We all would be taking our seats in the next meeting of Wizengamot. Each one of them except Ginger and Da..Munchkin would have to learn everything they need to know."
Daphne spoke before he could say anything.
"She is not speaking about manners and behaviors, Harry, stop bristling. They would have to learn about their houses, it's history, their responsibilities, their allies, and much more. Their actions and decisions will start affecting things which are far bigger than them."
He rubbed his head sheepishly, as the thought about pompous pureblood behavior had always irritated him. Seeing as they all agreed with Ron's proposal, he agreed too. They decided to do everything after the memories were done with. Those memories would give everyone the first glimpse of bad times that would follow and make the youngster understand the seriousness of the situation.
As they walked out, he noticed Bill and Fleur talking to each other. Well less talking, more like blushing and side-eyeing each other while trying to have a conversation. His wife's hand hit him as soon as a wolf whistle escaped his mouth. Ignoring her, he high fived Ron and Sue, both of whom had done the same thing. Jean was shaking her head while muttering about immature children, while Tracey just rolled her eyes. Fleur blushed more than he had ever seen her doing, while Bill just glared at them.
Once they had taken their seats, he waved Junior's questions off before putting in the next set of memories. Just as he started, Teddy started crying in his Grandmother's lap, pointing towards him. Passing the controls of memory to Ron, he took his godson in his arms and started speaking.
"The fourth year was a turning point for all of us. Things that happened during the school year and by the end of it were not something anyone had expected. I will not lie, for everyone present in the room, the times of peace was over. And it all started with a simple dream, one which Junior would have seen in the next few days."
As the dream started playing, he kept his eyes on the Headmaster. But Dumbledore didn't show any recognition of the room, nor to the name of the caretaker, answering another of his questions.
"The caretaker's name was Frank Bryce, and he took care of the Riddle mansion in little Hangleton. Unfortunately, I had the dream a month after it had happened. Frank Bryce went missing by the end of June, and no one ever found out about him."
It surprised him when Jon and Lord Davis reacted along with Dumbeldore at the name of the mansion. It looked like his Father in law knew the true name of Voldermort. He turned to Madam Bones who looked ready to move.
"Then he must be still there..."
He stopped her in between.
"No, Madam Bones. We cannot do anything right now. It will be explained by the end of the day, please."
She looked ready to argue, but at Sue's request, agreed for time being.
"A day after the dream, I was taken to the Weasley home and then we went to the Quidditch World Cup. Once the match ended, a group of Death eaters led by Lucius Malfoy attacked the people celebrating."
His voice stumbled as he started describing the crimes done by so-called elites.
"The ministry had suppressed this information, but that night, three young Veela went missing, along with one of our classmates, Sally Ann Perks, a half-blood who was the last living member of the Noble family of Perks. A magical couple was crucio'd until their minds snapped. Two Aurors were also killed, both retired and Veterans of the last war. All of this had remained a secret for nine years before Lucius Malfoy confessed the truths."
The looks of disgust and anger were clear on everyone's faces now. When Fleur started losing her human features, her father moved to calm her down.
"Don't worry. Things like that won't happen this time..."
"No, they will not, Mr. Potter," said Dumbeldore, surprising most of the people present there. The old man's entire being was pulsing with power and a visible aura was rolling off. He would have said something, but the look of trust and awe most of the youngsters were displaying for the Headmaster, stopped him. This was the one thing the six-time travelers had argued the most in their brief discussion before leaving the future. Everyone except wanted the Headmaster ruined for everything he had done, but he had refused. It was only due to their long friendship that they had agreed to decide once he opened some secrets of the late Headmaster. Dumbeldore was more than just a Headmaster and Chief Warlock. He was an icon, and they would need him for everything they had planned.
Once the Headmaster and Madam Bones had finished discussing amongst themselves, he continued.
"The Death eaters dispersed when someone else launched a Dark Mark in the sky and we all returned home. Oh, I forgot to mention, Percy had got a job as Bartemius Crouch's assistant in the ministry two weeks earlier." He kept the identity of the culprit secret, for now, watching the Weasley's gushing, Congratulating (and teasing mostly on Twins part) Percy for the job he was going to get in two days.
"Nothing major happened till the welcome feast, where some major announcements were made."
He winked at the Headmaster whose face had lightened a little by now and asked Ron to start the memory. By the end, most of the people in the room were gaping. Madam Bones soon joined the other magical parents in addressing Dumbeldore, while Jean was explaining to her parents what the tournament was.
"I never got the chance to ask before, Albus. Why did you allow the tournament to be brought back?"
The Headmaster looked at the had of DMLE with a serious expression.
"I had no say in this, Amelia. The Minister decided upon it with the other two ministry's and the Boards agreed for Hogwarts and other schools to participate. Once the contracts were signed, only then the other Headmasters and I were informed. Cornelius managed to use an old by-law of ICW to not inform them until it was impossible to cancel. The contract the board signed, binds the person responsible for the schools to manage the tournament, which is in the end, Headmasters and the Headmistress."
Lord Davis shook his head.
"No, no one can be bound to a contract if they do not sign it or agree to it verbally."
" In any other case that would be true, Lord Davis. But the contracts for the Triwizard tournament are imbued with magic so old that most of them are forgotten. No one knows how they work."
He called for all of their attention, as there was still a lot to show.
"Things happened as they happen in Hogwarts until the contingents of Durmstrang and Beauxbatons arrived. All interested students above 17 years of age entered their names and during Halloween feast, the name of champions was drawn. Unfortunately, four names came out instead of three as it was supposed to. I am sure you all can guess who the last champion was."
The last line was said with so much scorn and sarcasm that it brought a smile on nearly everyone's face. He signaled Ron to start the next memory.
"For all of you who are fantasizing about the tournament, this is what I faced in the first task."
The memory started with him seeing the Dragon for the first time in the arena, but it stopped a second later. He looked at Ron, who was drawing out a memory with a determined expression on her face.
RONALD WEASLEY
Seeing Harry skip over everything that happened between his name coming out and the first task was not something that he was okay with. He looked at Sue, who was already staring at him. Both of their behavior that time had not been something they should have done. He stopped playing Harry's memory and withdrew his own to add. Once it was being displayed the Pensieve, he looked at everyone in the room.
"Harry skipped over some very important things that happened in between, including my reaction to his name coming out. What happened, I am not proud of, but it is important for you all to see. The depth at which the school is divided right now became clear during this time."
He then started the memory and leaned back, Sue's hand in his, giving a small amount of comfort as everyone watched what was both of their greatest moment of shame. The memory showed his and Gryffindor's reaction and anger with Harry, the Hufflepuff's behavior, the Ravenclaws indifference, and the Slytherin's bullying. They all saw Susan joining Hufflepuffs against Harry, him staying silent as his best friend was harassed in front of him, the badges Malfoy made and distributed without being stopped, Sprout's treatment of Harry despite being a teacher, and no reaction of the Staff at everything. When the memory ended, it took most of the people present, only a second to start reacting. His mother was shouting at both Him and Ronnie, while Madam Bones was having a pretty strict talk with Sue. Just as it looked Ronnie would explode with shame, Harry's growling voice rang out.
"Stop it all of you, that's enough."
His mother did not look like she thought was enough. Unfortunately, she used the same shouting tone as always on Harry.
"No, young man. Listen here, he ..."
Harry's fist banged on the table hard as a shudder went through the room. His best friend was shaking with anger and trying to control himself. He knew it was more due to the tone and voice his mother used than anything else. Ever since the war, Harry had always had a bad reaction to someone shouting at him. No one knew why not even Daphne.
"Mrs. Weasley, as I said, that's enough."
This time his mother stepped down, her eyes looking at Harry with a confused expression.
"Yes, what Ron and others did was not right. But I forgave my friends. They have suffered a lot for me, and have been dragged to life and death situations because of me. You all saw an 11 year Ron ready to sacrifice himself for an 11-year-old Harry, a 13-year-old Ron ready to fight a presumed mass murderer for his friend despite a broken leg. He has stood with me against undefeatable odds, more times than you all can think. Just because we had ups and downs in our relationship, does not mean that he is a bad person. The same goes for Sue, Madam Bones. They both were teenagers when this had happened. People much older and mature then the reacted in worse ways, and never tried to apologize for it. My friends did, and I never regretted the moment when I chose to forgive them."
Harry's tirade was followed by a silence that was broken by Daphne.
"You all looked at Ron and Susan, forgetting about everybody else in that memory. There were worse things than the betrayal of a friend in that."
Jean's mother spoke up soon.
"Mrs. Potter is correct. What we saw was an utter failure of a school which was described to us as the most prestigious school of magic. Although the bullying is a common human nature, muggle, or a wizard, the scope and inaction of every teacher, are not. As I remember Hermione telling me, there are two Head students along with perfects from the fifth year and above of every house. And not one of them did anything that was their responsibility. The houses resemble more like sides of war then parts of a school."
She then turned towards the Headmaster, her tone curious.
"We did not see you in any of the memories, Headmaster. Would be able to explain why this would have happened and possible reasons for your absence?"
The question was asked in such a way that made him remember a young Hermione. Before Dumbeldore could answer, Harry did it.
"It was because he didn't know, Mrs. Granger. I later found out that he had been off to the ministry for days after the Halloween feast, intending to find a way to get me out of the tournament."
Mrs. Granger shook her head.
"Just as Madam Bones said, Mr. Potter, He did not know is not a valid answer for someone of his position. All it does is depict failures after failures of him as a Headmaster."
Dumbledore, who had been silent until now, finally spoke up. But the Headmaster's tone was very beaten down and his face looked unlike ever he could remember.
"You are not wrong, Mrs. Granger. It seems that I have been failing Hogwarts due to my focus on other things. I..."
He was sure that history was happening in the room, as words failed Dumbeldore and he just closed his eyes. No one had ever seen the Headmaster struggle for words or look like a defeated man. Albus Dumbeldore had always been a man greater than everything, a man who one could look up, a man who looked like he deserved his reputation. Right now, everything in that was as far from the truth as it could be. A few moments later, Harry addressed all of them.
"I think it would do good for us to take a little break. We can start after half an hour."
After that, his friend called for Dobby to bring light refreshments, and walked towards Dumbeldore, with an awake Teddy in his arms. It did not take long for Teddy to work his magic over the old man, and less than 5 minutes after, the small child was being entertained by one of the greatest minds of the Wizarding World.
HARRY POTTER
Once Dumbeldore had calmed down, he called everyone once again and started the memory of the first task. Seeing his method of dealing with the dragon had left many people in the room shaking their heads. Brat had summed up most of their thoughts, most likely.
"All that research done by the top student of our year and the boy who managed to produce a fully corporeal Patronus in his third year gave you the answer for dealing with a dragon as flying around it?"
He blushed at that, knowing they could have come up with far easier methods. Jean was glaring at her wife's younger self, but the embarrassment was clear on her face. His and Ron's behavior with Parvati and Padma had nearly every women look at them with judging eyes, and him thanking everything that made Daphne married him. He too would have to teach Junior how to deal with Munchkin, otherwise, his younger self might end up six feet under someday. He could feel his marriage bond thrummed at that thought and looked up to see the amused face of his wife. The reaction of nearly every Slytherin at the second task had him huff. Andromeda and Daphne had called him a Gryffindorish fool at the same time, while the other Slytherins had started explaining why his decision was foolish. After that, he glossed over everything before they arrived at the last memory of the fourth year. Before starting it, he looked at everyone present in the room. After that night in Graveyard, things had started going down for him. Except for a few things like his marriage, the situation had gone worse day after day, ending with the day they had decided to travel in the past. How this memory would affect everyone in the room, he had no idea. After sharing a meaningful glance with his wife and two oldest friends, he started the memory.
REVIEW REPLIES
mwinter1, Despicable-Angel, Pascal Dragon:- Thank you. I am angling for a world building type fic. Once I have dealt with Voldermort, it will probably go as the sotry Novacaine goes.
Fvdv123:- I don't know whether it was a sarcastic question or something else. Either way, I think that with so much dependence on their wands, it would become something like an extension of them. And they had been fighting a war, and were being hunted. It did not feel right that niether of them used their wands at all.