DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter.
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Summary: After a trip from 1991, he found his Aunt Mione married to someone else.
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A/N: Thanks for the wonderful reviews and support! Reviews, please? Thanks in advance!
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CHAPTER 1: Home
"It's not much, but it's home." - Ron, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
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July 2020
(the present)
He was home. He could smell fresh bed sheets and fresh air. He could hear the sound of chicken being fried and smell them; the smell of freshly-baked potatoes - or maybe Shepherd's Pie. He could hear the clinking of utensils, the stirring of tea, and footsteps on the stairs.
"Is he awake?" came a familiar female voice.
Albus smiled. Rose, he thought.
"I don't know. How would I know?" came another voice but it was a boy's voice.
Al frowned. Hugo?
"Children, what did I tell you about disturbing our visitor?" came a motherly voice.
It was the same voice he heard when he was younger; before Lily was born, when his parents were not around. It was the voice of the woman who made sure he was doing well in Hogwarts; the woman who would call his name every 1st of September to bid him goodbye and ask him to write back.
Al was sure it was his Aunt Mione's voice.
He smiled and opened his eyes, and the sight of a familiar woman greeted him.
"Mum, he's awake!"
"Rose, be quiet," Aunt Mione said gently. She turned to him. "Hello. How are you feeling?"
He blinked a few times. The room was unfamiliar - decorated with yellow and black curtains and sheets. The windows were big, enough for the sun to light the room. But he could also see Muggle things, like sockets, lampshades, and light switches.
He frowned and looked at the woman in front of him. Aunt Mione's hair was tamed. Her brown curls were smooth and were free from a ponytail. They were very long, too - almost reaching her waist. Other than her hair, there was nothing odd. She looked the same with her Muggle attire - casual cotton shirt and Muggle trousers.
But when their eyes met, Al thought there was something different, too. Her eyes. The way Aunt Mione looked at him was different.
It was as if she didn't know him.
"What's your name, dear?" she asked kindly.
Al blinked a few times again and turned her head to look at the other people in the room.
To his right was a young witch who looked like fourteen years old like him. She looked like Rose. There was a strong resemblance between Rose and Aunt Mione. They only differed in hair colours. Albus's cousin had the infamous Weasley ginger hair. But this one, the young witch in front of him had dark brown hair. Exactly like Aunt Mione's.
Al turned to the boy beside the young witch, and the moment he laid his eyes on him, he knew something was really wrong.
The boy looked younger than Hugo. He had brown hair, grey eyes, and a Patrician nose. He was nothing like a Weasley.
Al shook his head and cradled his head. "Where am I?"
"Ottery St. Catchpole, dear, in Devon, England," replied Aunt - no, Mione, gently. "What's your name, dear? And what year are you from?"
Al looked up at the question.
"You landed in our backyard with a time-turner around your neck," Hermione explained.
"You're Hermione Granger," he whispered rather sadly.
"She was Hermione Granger, you dolt!" commented the young witch.
Had the situation been different, Al would've laughed at the teenage witch's bossiness.
"Rose!" called Hermione sternly.
"Sorry, Mum," the girl apologized sincerely, then turned to her. "What's your name? You know, she's asked you twice already..."
Albus gulped and looked down on his lap. "Albus Potter," he said.
"Potter? Like Harry Potter?" asked the boy, sounding very surprised.
"I don't remember Harry Potter having a son named after a former Hogwarts' Headmaster," murmured Hermione. "When are you from, dear?"
Shit. Again? he thought. What about Scorp? What happened to him? Is he alive in this timeline? If Aunt Hermione is living peacefully in Ottery St. Catchpole, then Voldemort must be dead.
Someone cleared their throat - the younger wizard, he suspected - breaking him off from his musings. "The year 2020," he answered. "But it was different there..."
Hermione frowned and was silent for a moment. She looked at him straight into the eyes. Brown met green. It was as if she was searching for something. Albus thought she would be using Legilimency on him, but he didn't feel anything.
Isn't she a skilled Legilimens in this timeline? he wondered.
"Different? A different universe, you mean?" she asked kindly, breaking him from his musings.
He nodded. "I need to go back. It seems I don't belong here, so..." he trailed off and saw that he was no longer wearing his school robes, but a pair of cream pajamas.
"Where is my time-turner, Ma'am?" he asked politely.
Hermione gave him a forlorn look. "When you appeared in our yard, you fainted, and the time-turner around your neck was burning, so I removed it using magic."
"Burning?" he asked rather loudly. "Is it - "
"It's still in one piece," she assured him. "But it's too hot to be touched and used."
"Maybe it will cool down after an hour?" he asked hopefully. He couldn't be stuck here for a longer time.
Hermione studied him carefully. "How long have you been traveling back in time? How many times?"
He frowned. "Once," he lied.
"Mr. Potter, I don't know who I am in your time - in the other universe you're saying, or what I do, but here, I am a Healer, and I can definitely tell if a wizard or witch's magic has been drained - or worse, depleted. You've been unconscious for eight hours now because of overfatigue and the time-turner is still scorching hot."
His mouth formed a small 'o'. "I've been unconscious for eight hours?" he whispered. The shock was all over him.
Hermione nodded. "So, in my theory, you've traveled more than once."
"Theory?" he asked.
She nodded again. "Mr. Potter, in this universe, time-turners are highly protected. No witch or wizard had been traveling back and forth for years. Albus Dumbledore made sure of that."
He wanted to ask if Dumbledore was still alive this time and what happened to Harry Potter, the war, and Voldemort. But his main concern now was the time-turner.
"My time-turner... Can't you fix it?" he asked.
"I'm not an expert when it comes to time-turners. It's my husband's forte. So, it would be best for now if you stay here and wait if he could fix it."
"If he could?!" he almost yelled, earning glares from the two children.
Hermione raised an eyebrow, but there was still gentleness in her face. "Yes, Mr. Potter. If he could."
"If not?" he asked mournfully.
"Maybe you'll have to live with the Potters," suggested the younger wizard.
Albus turned to Hermione, waiting for her to say something, but she just gave her son a small smile and shook her head.
"Almost time for supper, children. Your father will be home soon."
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Albus decided to follow the family downstairs after fixing himself. He spotted his wand at the bedside table and frowned. Whatever happened to constant vigilance? he wondered. His Aunt Hermione, Uncle Ron, and Dad were always vigilant, always suspicious of strangers and no one visits their houses unless they're family members.
But here, Hermione seemed lax. He was a stranger, with a time-turner, and yet his wand wasn't taken away from him.
Maybe she peeked into your mind while you were asleep, part of his mind said.
When Al left the room where they put him in, he found that the house was as big as their home, the Grimmauld Place, but there were Muggle items. He remembered Hermione saying that they were in Ottery St., Catchpole, which would mean they were not far from The Burrow, or the home of Ronald Weasley.
He saw a window at the end of the hallway, so instead of turning left for the stairs, he turned right.
All he could see was green - trees, magical plants, and endless grass. It must be the backyard. But on the left side of the house, there was a small Quidditch Pitch. He frowned.
Did Aunt Mione marry a Quidditch player? he wondered.
And either The Burrow or the other Weasley home was nowhere to be seen.
Instead, he could hear cars passing by. Maybe the house was built near the Muggle area.
Who did she end up with this time? Is Panju Weasley still out there, alive? Is there James Sirius Potter at this time? This world seems peaceful, like my world, but what really happened?
"Daddy's home!"
Albus turned around at the voice of Hermione's youngest child.
He decided to go down and join the family, and to know who was the wizard his Aunt Hermione married this time.
When he reached the foot of the stairs, he saw Hermione being pulled into a hug by a tall wizard with brown hair, chiseled jawline, and a Patrician nose, just like the young boy's. Hermione's husband had the body build of an athlete - a Quidditch player, but he was wearing deep blue Ministry robes. Al wanted to know who the man was, but couldn't get a proper view of the face because they were whispering to each other and giggling.
They look in love, he thought.
"Mr. Potter." Hermione spotted him and gently pulled away from her husband's embrace.
The wizard turned his head to Al's direction, and he finally saw his eyes. They were grey.
"This is my husband, Cedric Diggory."
Albus felt like a bucket of ice had been splashed into him.