A/N: I don't own Harry Potter

This is for the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Auction Day 24 - Costume Party - Come From Away

Word Count: 977

The day had started like any other. Petunia poured out the old coffee the night crew insisted on leaving in the pots. She started the fresh batch, wondering if today would be busy or slow. The door chime rang and Petunia looked over her shoulder to see a young man step inside. He was dressed in combat fatigues and wearing a matching helmet. She blinked, turning around and nearly staring at him. As far as she knew, there was no war going on.

"Can I get you something?" she asked, giving him a smile. "I've just put a fresh pot of regular on," she added wondering where he had come from. She realized she hadn't heard a car door.

"Where am I?" he asked, looking at her.

"Evans' Coffee and Creams," Petunia answered, giving him an odd look. "Are you alright?"

"What year?"

"1979, of course."

"Too far, no maybe not," he muttered. "It hasn't happened yet, maybe I can prevent it," he mumbled. Petunia watched him wondering if he was mad.

"Wait, you said Evans?"

"Yes, I did. Evans' Coffee and Creams, this coffee shop."

"You're not Lily?"

"No, that's my twin sister, she's out right now. Are you a friend of hers?" Petunia asked. She knew Lily had some unusual friends.

"No, no, she doesn't know me. I need to find..." the man paused, thinking.

"Why don't you have a cup of coffee while you wait?" Petunia suggested.

"Actually, sure. That does sound good. I need to figure out where I went wrong. How to fix it?"

"Maybe I can help you? I mean, I don't know much," Petunia said, pouring him a cup of fresh coffee. She placed it in front of him. He added some sugar, took a sip and nodded.

"I'm trying to prevent a war from starting. The war that's going to happen next year, well, it's already building, but the climax is next year. If I do this right, I can save a lot of people. I can save him, but he doesn't even exist yet."

"You're not from around here, are you?" Petunia asked, studying him. He was a soldier, she could tell that much even without his clothing. There was a look in his eyes, a gleam that he had seen combat, that he'd held a gun, done things. She'd seen the same gleam in her grandfather's eye when he talked about the war.

"No, I'm from the future, not that you'd believe me."

"I do, actually, believe you," Petunia said after a moment. "I know there's things in this world that don't make sense. I mean, magic is real, why wouldn't time travel?"

"That's a good point. I'm Cedric, by the way."

"Petunia. Now, you said you need to prevent the war from getting worse?"

"Yes, there's a man, a horrible man, he's going to murder someone important, well attempt to. He fails, and it brings his downfall for a bit, but then he rises up even stronger. If I can stop that -"

"You might be able to prevent his second rise," Petunia finished.

"Exactly! But how to do it?"

"Do you know where he is now?"

"No, I don't. I know where he'll be in a yearish."

"You could wait it out, that yearish, then strike then?"

"I could, but... There's so much at stake. If I can find him now, prevent him from getting close to that night."

"We should write down a time table, work backwards from then. You know where he's going to be, figure out where he comes from," Petunia suggested, pulling out a paper menu and a pen.

"Why are you helping me?"

"I don't know, maybe I'm just a sucker for a man in uniform?" Petunia joked as Cedric started jotting down places and dates. Petunia watched him, wondering what would happen if he succeeded. Would this whole meeting never have happened? Would she remember the cute guy who had stumbled into her shop babbling about saving people who hadn't even been born yet?

Cedric looked at her and nodded.

"I've got it, I think. Thank you, Petunia. Look, I shouldn't say anything, but if this works, it will change some things, things I haven't accounted for."

"What does that mean?"

"It means, telling you this, telling you something that might or might not happen might not have a disastrous affect now. Eventually, you're going to meet a man named Dursley. He sells drills. You're going to find him attractive, the way you're looking at me now."

"And?" Petunia asked.

"And don't marry him. Trust me, just don't. I've got to go now. Thank you for your help, and the coffee," Cedric said, standing and walking out of the shop leaving Petunia standing there watching him.

Three years later.

"Aunt Tuney! Look, I make candy!" Harry yelled, holding up a ball of modeling clay. Petunia smiled. She had volunteered to watch Harry while Lily and James took their second honeymoon.

"Good job, Harry. Is your cousin helping you?" she asked.

"No, Daisy's making doughnuts for your coffee shop," Harry replied. True to Cedric's words, Petunia had met a man named Dursley, a beefy sort of man who didn't care for any nonsense, or frivolous things. She had found him attractive, but she'd headed Cedric's warning, passing on his flirting.

Instead, she'd completely reconciled with her sister, who had in turn, introduced her to a lovely man named Kingsley. They'd had Daisy a year and half ago. She and Harry got on splendidly. Part of Petunia wondered what her life had been like before, before Cedric had warned her, before he'd came into her life. She knew she wouldn't trade what she had now for anything. She often thanked her memory of Cedric for this chance. She only hoped he'd managed to fix what had left him looking so broken.