A/N: Welcome again to the next chapter of Harry Potter and the Paradox of Time. I hope everybody enjoys it. I would just like to remind everyone that I have restarted my old Yahoo! Group for anyone who wants to join. If you are interested, it is the homepage link on my author profile. Well now on to what everyone is here for, I give you Chapter 5.
Harry Potter and
the Paradox of Time
Chapter 5: School Begins
After that, they trained until they were so tired, that they could barely make it to their bedrooms. They continued like this right up till August 31, which they decided to take off as a break to celebrate the end of the holidays.
Harry and Lily trained hard that month. They had come far in that one month, especially Harry. He wasn't nearly as powerful as Dumbledore, but he was starting to come into his own. His endurance had increased over ten-fold. He had also made many strides in Transfiguration, which he had had some trouble with before.
Lily, while not having first-hand experience, was becoming a formidable fighter. She had the same problem that Hermione had, she thought too much. She was intelligent, but the first thing she had to learn was to trust her instincts. Once she got over that, she was an excellent dueler to practice with.
But, that month had come to an end. They had become even better friends. Harry tried to keep everything strictly platonic, but sometimes he could feel a familiar monster curled in his stomach. It compelled him into long bouts of staring; that he didn't even realize had started. He would shake himself roughly and go back to what he was doing.
Finally August 31st came. They had their own little 'party' that night. Larry had made a nice meal for the two of them, and they stayed up late in the den on the comfortable couch. In fact, they stayed up so late that they fell asleep on the couch.
Harry woke up the next morning with a warm weight on his chest. He opened his eyes and saw a mass of red hair splayed over his chest.
Harry smiled. They had talked till God knows when, and had fallen asleep on the couch. Harry sat idly looking down at the peaceful redhead that was still asleep on him. That was, until he noticed the time on the clock in the corner.
"Shit!" Harry shouted as he jumped up off the couch. Lily fell to the floor because of the sudden jolt.
Lily sat up and rubbed the side of her back. "What was that for? I was in the middle of a particularly good dream." She said grumpily continuing to rub her back.
"No time to talk! It's 10:30!" Harry shouted.
Lily's eyes widen, and she jumped up. They both raced out the door, up the stairs, and into their respective rooms. They didn't have time to pack properly, so Harry just shouted, "Pack!"
Everything flew into his trunk. The robes and the rest of his cloves, he had gotten some of James', flew into the trunk not even bothering to fold. Harry grabbed a pair of robes and his Head Boy badge before he slammed it shut. He dragged it out to the hall, as he shrugged the pair robes on. He pinned the badge on as Lily pulled her trunk out of her room. She had already put on her robe and badge.
"So, how are we going to get there? We don't have a portkey, and I doubt I could apparate with my luggage there." Lily asked.
Harry thought for a second, "Larry!"
With a crack the tiny elf appeared. "Yes, Master Harry?" It asked with a bow.
"Could you take these trunks to Platform Nine and Three Quarters and wait for us to arrive please?" Harry asked gesturing to his and Lily's trunk.
"Yes, Master Harry. Larry is happy to help out Master and Mistress." The elf grabbed the two trunks and with a crack disappeared.
"Ok, now let's get out of here. It's 10:50! If we dally anymore we will be apparating to Hogsmeade, and that wouldn't be very smart way for the Head Boy and Girl to arrive." Harry said as he started down the stairs.
Lily followed him down the stairs, as they both took them at a run. The front door seemed to burst open as they came down the stairs. They ran down the walk to get outside the wards. They barely heard the door slam shut as they both apparated away.
The two of them reappeared in the almost deserted station. The few remaining parents were giving rushed goodbyes as their children boarded the train.
Larry came up right next them dragging their trunks. "Here is Master and Mistress' trunks. Larry be wanting to get back to his cleaning now."
"Very well, Larry. Lily and I will be fine from here. Thank you very much." Harry told the elf. The elf just disappeared with a crack.
The two of them picked up their trunks and they hurried for the train. Lily went towards the front car.
"Why are you going up there? All the compartments are probably already taken up there." Harry called to her.
"Nope this is the prefect's car. We have to be up here so we can lead the prefect's meeting then we can find our own compartment or just use the Head Boy and Girl one up here." Lily informed him.
Harry shrugged and just followed her into the car just as the train started to move out of the station.
"That was a close one." Harry remarked.
Lily just ignored him as she opened the door to a large compartment.
Harry pulled his trunk in and put against the wall. He would have to find the rest of the Marauders after the meeting. It was a moment that he had been both dreading and looking forward to for the last month.
"So what do we do at this meeting? I've never been to one before." Harry asked sitting down in a particularly comfortable seat.
"We introduce the new prefects, I assume there is a list here somewhere, and explain to them what their duties and such are. We also have to give out the start of term passwords; I assume there is a list of those also." Lily said as she started to look for the messages she assumed would be there. And sure enough on the back of the compartment door there was an envelope on the back of the door.
Lily took the envelope and opened it pulling out its contents.
She read over the letter. "Well this has the list of new prefects, the passwords, and it also says that we also have to assign patrol times this year." Lily pulled a second piece of paper off the back of the first. She handed it to Harry.
It was a blank schedule with four slots for each night.
"It says each set of prefects have to patrol two nights a week. Every night there needs to be one group from each house and then on one night we have to patrol the castle alone, and we also have to help at least one other night a week with the other prefects." Lily told him as she read more of the letter.
"Is that all?" Harry asked handing back the blank schedule.
"It goes on to list the perks, like we get our own private dormitory rooms if we wish. We are also able to visit Hogsmeade whenever we want, as long as we inform our Head of House. That and we are exempt from the curfew. After that it just warns us not to abuse our power or we can and will be removed." Lily gave him a pointed look at this.
"What? I'm not actually James Potter you know. I would like to think, I'm a little bit more responsible than he is." Harry said with a mock hurt look at here.
"From what I remember you tend to get into trouble just as much as he did." Lily said.
"It wasn't my fault. The trouble finds me, not the other way around." Harry countered.
"Ok, I'll give you that one. Just stay out of trouble this year." Lily said shaking her head.
"So, when does this meeting start?" Harry asked changing the topic.
Lily looked at her own watch. "They should start showing up in a few minutes."
Harry and Lily didn't have to wait long as the first prefects started to arrive. The first one to walk in was Remus. Remus just gave him a quizzical look, before he got pushed out of the way and the rest of the prefects started piling into the compartment.
Harry allowed Lily to lead the meeting seeing as she already knew what to do. They had everyone sign up for two patrol spots. Everyone left except for Harry, Lily and Remus.
Remus looked rather pale and ragged at the moment. Harry contributed it to the full moon that had happened two nights ago.
"Is there something I can help you with Moony?" Harry asked raising an eyebrow.
Remus looked over at Lily that was now listening to the conversation.
Harry followed Remus' look and shook his head. "It's ok, Remus? I've told her about most of our escapades. Plus I thought you two got along pretty well." Harry said amused.
"Well I guess that answers my question then." Remus said chuckling to himself.
"And, what might that question had been?" Harry asked.
"I was wondering, where you had been all summer. Padfoot dragged me and Wormtail all over the country looking for you. We checked Diagon Ally almost every week, and we couldn't find you at Potter Manor or the summer homes we knew of. But, now I guess you spent all summer with this redhead. What changed? Last year you couldn't talk with her without her slapping you." Remus said giving him a curious look as he sniffed the air.
"I realized this summer that I can't keep acting the way I have been. There is a war going on out there, and I need to get ready so I can do my own part to help out. I decided to take care of some things this summer. One of those was apologizing to Lily. When I arrived I found out how horrible her sister is, so I took her to an old family summer home that hasn't been used in awhile." Harry explained. He and Lily had carefully made up this lie the past month when they weren't training.
"Well, I guess I'll be seeing you in our normal compartment then. If not Padfoot might tear the train apart to look for you. Congratulations by the way. They don't usually pick a Head Boy that wasn't a prefect." With that Remus gave him another weird look.
"What were those looks for?" Lily asked once the door had closed again.
"He is a werewolf. My scent is probably different from James'. James' clothes and stuff might cover most of it up, but I'm sure that I still smell different. Harry conveniently left out the fact that he probably smelled a bit like James since he was somewhere back in time, James would be his actual father, but Lily didn't know about any of that, yet.
"Oh, I forgot about that. You'll just have to be careful around him. I think he might be a little suspicious of you. Well you should get going to your compartment now." Lily said as she started to dig in her trunk.
"Would you like to join me?" Harry said offering his arm to her.
Lily stopped rummaging in her trunk and looked up. "Are you sure? Sirius might mind."
"Don't worry. They will listen to me. I am their illustrious leader after all." Harry said giving her and overly dramatic bow.
Lily laughed. "You just looked and acted exactly like James would have."
"Well I have to be convincing don't I?" Harry said raising an eyebrow.
"Fine let's go." She said taking his arm.
Harry took out his wand with his free right arm and waved it at his and Lily's trunk. They floated up and followed the two of them out of the compartment. They made their way back the training looking through the window on each door looking for the Marauders. They saw Snape through one. He had given Harry the most scathing look, he had ever received, which Harry returned with a look of equal hatred and rage. Harry won that staring contest as Snape flinched away from his gaze.
They finally found the compartment. Sirius was talking with Remus adamantly about something. Then he saw Peter and he shuddered violently.
"Are you ok?" Lily asked feeling the shudder.
"Fine." Harry answered tersely.
Lily looked at him carefully. Harry quickly hid the face of loathing, but Lily caught it as he did. She just shrugged it off and figured it had something to do with future events.
Harry pulled the compartment door open and stepped in with Lily on his arm.
All three of them looked at him at once.
"So it's true. You and Evans are finally together. I never thought I would see the day." Sirius said as a sly grin came over his face.
"It's not like that, and you know it, Sirius." Harry said stressing his name.
"Ya, right. We'll talk later. So what have you been up to all summer? We checked Diagon Ally weekly and we couldn't find you." Sirius asked.
"Didn't Tom tell you?" Harry asked.
"Whose Tom, Prongs?" Sirius asked.
"He is the bartender at The Leaky Cauldron. I told him to tell you not to worry, and I would see you on the train." Harry told him as he took a seat after he shoved his and Lily's trunks up in the luggage rack.
"Oh, that guy. He was hurt in the attack on Diagon Ally at the beginning of last month. He has been recovering in St. Mungo's all month." Sirius said. "So, what have you been up to besides rescuing your favorite redhead?" Sirius finished.
"Oh, I've been here and there. Training a bit and taking care of business that I needed to. I was busy all summer long." Harry said offhandedly.
"Whatever. Remus told me that you made Head Boy. Is it true?" Sirius said as mischievous glint appeared in his eye.
"Yes, I have." An equal glint appearing in Harry's eyes. "I think we could definitely have some fun with Snivellus this year."
Lily rolled her eyes, but didn't say a word. She didn't really care what happened to Snape now that she knew what he would do in the future.
"So how should we start off the year? I think it is time we start off the train ride with our customary 'humiliate Snivellus for the first time' prank." Sirius asked.
"How about hanging him upside down out the window?" Harry suggested.
"Now, that's the spirit. I like it. Let's do it, unless your girlfriend has a problem with that." Sirius stressed 'girlfriend' as Harry blushed deeply.
"No don't mind me. Go have some fun." Lily said offhandedly as she continued to read a book she had taken from the library at Godric's Hollow.
The other three boys' eyes bugged out. "You certainly have changed, Evans. You would have cursed us all for even suggesting that last year." Sirius said in disbelief.
Lily shrugged, "I guess I've had a change of heart."
The three boys just stared at her till Harry had gotten up and opened the door. "Come on guys. I saw Snivellus further up the train when I left the Prefects car." Harry walked out the door and up the train.
They made their way to the car he had seen Snape in before.
They reached the compartment and Harry gave out instructions. "Padfoot and Moony take care of the rest of the snakes; I'll take care of Snivellus."
"What about me?" Peter asked in his sniveling voice that wouldn't change over the years.
"Do you think you could take one of them, Peter?" Harry asked looking at him with pity masked over the anger he felt about the rat's presence.
"No." Peter said shrinking back against the wall.
"Ok. Everyone set then?" Harry said looking at Sirius and Remus.
The two of them nodded at him. They burst into the compartment. Remus and Sirius fired enough curses to separate Snape from the rest of the Slytherins.
Snape sneered at him, "What do you want, Potter?" Snape spit the last out with disgust.
"I just wanted to have a little fun." Harry said with just as much disgust.
Harry smiled as he felt the prodding of a Legilmens. Harry closed off his mind and shoved the intruder out. Snape winced and stumbled back at the rough way he was thrown out his mind.
"It's not polite to snoop in other's minds, Snivellus." Harry spat out. He then added non-verbally, Levicorpus!
Snape quickly toppled over and hung suspended in the air. His wand fell out of his pocket as he hung. He tried to grab it, but it slipped through his greasy hands. Harry raised him up so he couldn't get the wand on the ground.
"Put me down, Potter." Snape spat.
By this time Sirius and Remus was able to stun all the other Slytherins and were watching him and Snape carefully.
"And, why would I do that. The fun has just begun. So what should we do now?" Harry asked looking around the compartment. It was the signal for Wormtail to open the compartment window and vanishing the mesh that now covered the open window. The wind howled as it rushed into the compartment.
"Ahh, thank you, Peter." Harry waved his wand and Snape roughly floated out the window. The four boys laughed as Snape fought against the window ripping his robes off and his hair going all over the place. They just laughed some more.
"Ok, I think that is enough. You have had your fun for the ride." A feminine voice said behind the boys.
"Oh come on, Lily. We were just having some fun." Harry whined.
"You had your fun. Bring back in before you hurt him." Lily said with a note of command in her voice.
Harry just roughly floated the frightened Slytherin back in the window not particularly caring if he bumped him against the frame.
As soon as he was back in Lily wave her wand and the mesh reappeared and the window shut.
Harry let Snape drop to the floor. He took some time recovering. The four boys had started laughing at him again. Harry saw him reaching for his fallen wand. "Oh I don't think so Snivellus. Have a good year! Stupefy!" Snape slumped back to the ground before they left the compartment.
They made their way back to the compartment howling over what had just happened.
The rest of the trip the five students talked about their summers and laughed over some rather interesting jokes from Sirius, which Lily scowled at.
Harry could tell this was going to be fun year, stressful but fun.
The train started to come to a stop and the three other boys pulled on their robes. They got out and Harry heard the familiar call, " 'firs 'years, this way!"
Harry suppressed the urge to call out since Hagrid and James hadn't been friends like Harry and Hagrid were. They made their way out of the station and towards the carriages.
"What are those?" Lily shrieked pointing to the front of the carriages.
Harry quieted her quickly. "They are thestrals. They have always been there. The thing is you can't see them unless you have witnessed someone die. Keep quiet though. The others might want to know how you can see them." Harry fiercely whispered into her ear as Remus looked over his shoulder giving him a quizzical look.
Lily closed her mouth and quickly looked away. The five teens continued into an empty carriage. They talked some more about what pranks they might do this year when the carriage finally lurched, and they fell silent as the carriage made its way up to the castle.
The carriages stopped and they hopped out of them, and started up the steps.
When they got inside, Harry heard the harsh voice of Professor McGonagall. "Mr. Potter and Ms. Evans, The headmaster would like to talk to the two of you after the feast before you make your way to your dormitories. The password is 'Skittles.'" Then she walked away after Peeves that was causing some trouble at the entrance to the Great Hall.
Harry and Lily looked at each other and shrugged.
"You don't think it is about what we did on the train do you?" Remus asked worried.
"I doubt it. Wouldn't she just want to see us four and not just me and Lily?" Harry asked.
Remus shook his head, and they made their way into the Great Hall. The five took their seats at the table as they waited for the feast to begin.
Silence overcame the hall as the new first years walked in looking as scared as they normally did.
Professor Dumbledore stood up. He looked different than Harry remembered. His hair looked a little darker, and his beard was a little shorter than it was in the future. "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts. Before we start the sorting I would like to introduce our new staff member this year. It seems that our old caretaker has been gravely injured in the attack on Diagon Ally at the beginning of the past month." Professor Dumbledore as a rush of whispers went over the hall. The hall fell silent again as Dumbledore started again. "So I would like you all to welcome Argus Filch that will be replacing the injured Apollyon Pringle."
There was a small amount of polite applause, but Harry groaned. Lily and Remus gave him an inquisitive look before they looked back up at the Headmaster.
"Well I think that is all I will say for the moment. Let the Sorting begin!" The headmaster clapped and the side doors opened and a younger looking Flitwick walked in carrying the three-legged stool and the sorting hat.
(A/N: I'm sorry, but I'm no good at writing things like the Sorting Hat's song. I will just say here that it is basically the standard song during war times, telling them to unite or they will fall and such. I think you get the picture.)
The students applauded as the Sorting Hat finished its song. Then Professor McGonagall started calling out names and the sorting commenced. The tables all clapped when they got a new student, but they began to get restless as the unusually large first year class finished being sorted.
"Well I believe is time to eat, Tuck In!" Dumbledore said as he stood up once the last first year had been sorted.
Food appeared on the table. Sirius and Harry started fiercely to wolf down the food to fill their growling stomachs. Remus and Lily shook their heads as they politely ate. Once everyone was done eating and desert had passed the food disappeared and silence once again.
Professor Dumbledore stood up again. "Now that our bellies our full, I have a few more announcements before we all fall asleep for the night. First, I would like to inform the first years and remind certain older students," Dumbledore looked directly at Harry and Sirius here, "that the Forbidden Forest is just that forbidden. No student should be found wondering around it. Secondly due to recent events at night there will be patrols all over the schools. Not only will this include Prefects and teachers, but also Aurors on loan from the Ministry will also be present. Any students caught out of bounds after curfew will be punished accordingly. People guilty of multiple infractions will be expelled. These are troubled times, and I hope you all will be sure to follow all rules that we set forward as they are for your own protection. And lastly I believe that all house teams are in need of new Quidditch players. Your heads of house will be posting in the next week a notice in your common rooms about when tryouts will be held and who the new captains are seeing as both the Gryffindor and Slytherin teams are in need of new ones. Well, I believe that is all. Everyone have a wonderful night and enjoy the day before classes start on Monday."
With that the students stood up and made their way out of the hall. The prefects called the first years and the hall slowly emptied.
Harry and Lily were one of the last to leave. They made their way up to the seventh floor towards the Headmaster's office.
They reached the gargoyle and Harry gave the password. The two teens stepped onto the moving staircase.
They reached the door and knocked. Harry felt a gentle prod in his head and smiled. So that was how the old man did it. Harry kept his mind closed and he finally heard the headmaster call. "You may come in now."
Harry opened the door and he walked in with Lily following him. The headmaster motioned for them sit in the chairs in front of his desk. They took the seats and waited for the headmaster to start.
"It is good to see you are still with us, Mr. Potter. I must admit I wasn't certain that you would be returning this year after the death of your parents last year. I would like to enquire where you were this summer however. You had your friends Mr. Black and Mr. Lupin very worried.
"I was around. I had some stuff to take care of the summer. It wasn't anything I couldn't handle." Harry told the headmaster. Harry felt the familiar prodding in his head and he spoke up, "I find it is more polite to ask a question then to peek into their minds." Harry said it with a smile.
The headmaster chuckled. "I see I have been found out. I guess Ms. Evans would have something to do with this. It seems you two spent a good deal of time together this summer." The headmaster peered over his glasses his eyes twinkling like normal.
"I also believe from talking with victims at the attack on Diagon Alley, that you played a major role in stopping the attack." The headmaster eyes bore into Harry.
"Yes, headmaster. I was there. I merely defended myself." Harry said not wanting to reveal too much.
The headmaster looked skeptically at him, but didn't press the issue.
"I'm sure that you are wondering why I have called you here Ms. Evans." The headmaster said after a moment.
Lily shook her head. "It seems the Ministry felt a strange surge of magical activity at your home. They would have sent you a warning, but it was detected coming from a wizard or witch that was of age. They informed me and asked that I would investigate. When I came by your house you weren't there and your sister and her husband seemed terrified when I mentioned you. They said something about a 'black haired freak' attacking them. I also detected a minor memory charm on your sister." The headmaster just looked over his glasses.
"That was me, Professor. I had come to apologize for my behavior to Lily and I decided to help her out with her sister. They weren't very nice to her. The memory charm was just to hide something she overheard that I didn't think was wise to remember. It might put her in danger with all that is going on at the moment." Harry told him trying to get the headmaster's attention off Lily that was squirming a little bit.
It worked and the headmaster looked towards him, "Very well, Mr. Potter. I would like to remind you that it is not wise to terrorize Muggles, no matter how they deserved it. Also the memory charm is illegal when performed by anyone other than a trained Obliviator, not to mention dangerous to the recipient."
"Yes, headmaster. I will remember that in the future." Harry said acting properly ashamed.
"Very well, I believe that will be all for tonight. I will see you in a week when you make your weekly report. Have a good night and please stay out of trouble, Mr. Potter. Head Boy is a prestigious position, and I hope you won't prove me wrong in appointing you. Now to your dormitories, you will need your rest." Dumbledore said as he waved his hand dismissing them.
Harry and Lily quickly left.
"That was close. You think quickly on your feet, H…James." Lily still was getting use to calling him James.
"It is something required when fighting. Why don't we hurry up? I don't really want to run into Filch. He isn't exactly the most pleasant of people to be around." Harry said rushing the two of them towards Gryffindor tower.
"I take it he was around in your day." Lily said looking at him. She had been curious about all the things in the future especially after he told her about Dumbledore's murder.
"Yes, he was absolutely horrible, and he has this horrible cat that helps him. He didn't like me much though. I think he thought I was too much like my father. But, I can't exactly blame him. My father was a trouble maker." Harry told her.
"So your father is in school now is he?" Lily said curious. He had never told her much about his parents.
Harry cursed. "Yes, you could say that." He had said too much.
The rest of the trip went by in silence and they eventually reached the common room. Remus and Sirius were still up and asked them what the headmaster had wanted. They had been surprised to learn that 'James' had been the one to help thwart the attack on Diagon Alley, but Sirius was delighted when he heard how 'James' terrorized Lily's relatives.
Harry and Lily decided they would spend the night in their special dormitories, just to get a feel for them.
A/N: So what do you think of the fifth chapter. I hope you enjoyed. Lupin is suspicious of Harry because of the scent problem. Harry though will smell a bit like James along with a mixture of Lily. Harry might even have to reveal to him his true identity, but I haven't decided whether to that or not. I guess you will just have to wait and see. Well I invite everyone to join my Yahoo! Group. Well that is all I have to say. R&R