I don't own Harry Potter or anything you recognise

Professor McGonagall reached into her robes and pulled out a small phial that seemed to be filled with a shiny, misty substance, which Petunia could not identify as liquid or gas. She removed the stopper and poured the contents into the pensieve; she stirred it once with her wand and then stuck her finger in.

Chapter 2

A short time later Molly Weasley's head had appeared in the fireplace of the Headmasters office.

"Am I correct in assuming that you have been visited by a time-traveller?" asked Professor Dumbledore after greetings had been exchanged.

"Yes, well actually sixteen time-travellers."

"Sixteen!" exclaimed Petunia and her look of shock was echoed on the faces of Dumbledore and McGonagall.

"They profess to be my grandchildren," continued Molly, "they are all about school age, the oldest appears to be around sixteen years old. As far as I can ascertain they are telling the truth."

"Do you know these children?" Professor McGonagall asked Petunia.
Petunia hesitated, she was aware of how close Harry was to the family, surely if she said she did not know them there would be awkward questions as to why. However her contact with the Weasley's was limited to the several cards she received each birthday and the occasional letter from Molly detailing the various activities of her grandchildren (although the tone of these letters was somewhat aloof - from what Petunia had been able to understand Harry had dated Ginny Weasley and her mother had never quite got over Petunia). That and the night she had spent at The Burrow when she had first come to England. She became aware that the three adults were looking at her awaiting her answer.

"Oh, um, well I don't know them all"

Professor McGonagall raised her eyebrows, "All?"

"If what I am told is true," said Molly, " I have twenty-six grandchildren."

"Have these children told you what time they come from?" asked Dumbledore.

"No, I thought it best not to ask," replied Molly, "but at least one of them is from a time after Petunia had come here."

"Then we cannot be sure that Petunia knows these children even if she has met your grandchildren," said Dumbledore, echoing Petunia's thoughts.

"The most important question is how do we return the children to their own time," said Professor McGonagall, "How did they get here?"

"Has Petunia told you how she got here?" asked Molly.

"A time potion" replied Dumbledore, "is that what they used?"

"Yes," began Molly, "Firstly, one of them, that is Jocelyn, came from a different time than the rest. It appears she had heard the tale of Petunia's adventure and somehow came across the potion of a type that was used by Petunia and decided to give it a try. She was only planning to be here a short while but the arrival of the others distracted her and she failed to eat the sweet within the time correct time."

"Sweet?" interrupted McGonagall,

"Oh, didn't Petunia explain?" seeing their disagreement she continued, "It seems that the potion works in a gradual way, a sweet has been developed that if eaten before the process is complete, usually within about half an hour, reverses the process and sends the traveller back to the approximate time they departed. Jocelyn brought one such sweet with her. It appears that the other children stumbled across the same batch of potion, I think they had some idea that it was a time potion but they do not seem to have understood how it works before they all took it; they didn't bring sweets and have no idea of how to get back to their own time" she said incredulously, appearing both angry and worried. "We sent one of the children, the youngest, Kevin, back using Jocelyn's sweet. We hoped he would bring help but none has appeared and by now the process will be complete."

"Well that is quite a story" said Dumbledore, "help may yet arrive but as we have no way of knowing if that will be the case we must try to find a way of returning the children ourselves."

"From what Jocelyn tells me, Petunia must know a way," said Molly, looking interestedly at Petunia.
Petunia felt all eyes on her, it was then that she realised that neither Professor Dumbledore nor Professor McGonagall knew whom she truly was, but this Jocelyn girl surely must and might have told Molly.

"I don't." said Petunia, "I knew about the sweet of course, and I had one, but I was meant to be here a year so of course there must be another way for me to go back. The instructions are in a sealed envelope sent to Professor McGonagall along with my Hogwarts letter from my own time and a note explaining just enough to allow me to be admitted. No one but Professor McGonagall knew I was a time-traveller, even Professor Dumbledore didn't know until half and hour ago." She looked pointedly at Molly, who held her gaze for a moment and then looked incredulously at Dumbledore and then back at Petunia,

"You mean they don't know…"

"No"

"You don't think you should tell them?"

"No, not if I can help it"

Molly shook her head; Dumbledore and McGonagall were looking curiously from Petunia to Molly as they listened to the conversation.

"I think it wise for us not to know any information that is not critical," said Dumbledore, "in fact although I am intensely curious, if it becomes necessary to find out more of these children I will leave that task to Minerva until such time as she deems it necessary to inform me, if that is okay with her?"

"It is," assented McGonagall, "I agree wholeheartedly. For now let us open this envelope," she picked it up off the desk where it had been sitting, "and let us hope that it contains instructions for sending sixteen people back to their own time."

"Perhaps I should read it," said Petunia, "it can't contain information that I shouldn't know."

"That might be best," said McGonagall, "it is addressed to me but with instructions that I not open it until it is time to send you back." She handed the envelope to Petunia, who read the letter and handed it back,

"You should probably read this," she said, "but you may need to do that thing with your thought's and the bowl afterwards."

Minerva took the letter and read it, her eyes widened and her eyebrows shot up as she read, then she sighed.

"It does contain instructions that will send them back, however it appears that they will have to remain in this time for a short period, perhaps at least a couple of weeks."

----

"Molly and Arthur cannot be expected to look after them all indefinitely," said Professor McGonagall after an extensive discussion, "and as they are all around school age they will need to continue their education. It seems that the best course of action therefore is for any that are witches and wizards to come to Hogwarts."
Dumbledore nodded his agreement.
"We will need some preparation however." Professor McGonagall snapped into organising mode. "Molly, please reassure them that we have a way to send them back. I will come to The Burrow once I have organised things here." Molly nodded and her head disappeared from the flames.

"Petunia, please go and wait for me in my office, do you know where it is?" Petunia nodded, "The password is 'oranges'."

Once Petunia had left Minerva turned to Professor Dumbledore,

"Albus I am sorry but I am going to have to ask you to remove the memories of the last hour from your mind." Dumbledore nodded sadly,

"I understand. I really am deeply curious though, I hope that one day I will hear the full story," His eyes twinkled, "May I suggest that you consider using glamour spells to hide their identity; if they look anything like the present generations of Weasley's they will need it. Good Luck." He took his wand and began to remove long strands of memories from his temple. Presently he was finished.
"Ah, done," he said, "now if you would be so kind as to tell me why I have considered it necessary to remove the memories of the last hour, the last thing I remember is I was having a nice hot cup of lemon tea."

"I'm sorry Albus but it is best you do not know what has conspired, it involves time-travel and I dare say I will have the need of a pensieve before this day is out. Now, all you need know is that you have agreed to admit fifteen new students to the school, it will only be temporarily as we are working on sending them back to their own times." Dumbledore raised his eyebrows but didn't protest. "They will be arriving this evening and I think it best if they undergo a private sorting ceremony here. I will engage Professor Sinastra to cover my second year class this afternoon, as I will have to leave the castle to undertake preparations. You have also had to remove your memories of your meeting with Petunia Edwards this afternoon so you may need to reschedule if you feel it necessary."

"Ah, it is funny but I don't remember what it was about." He took off his glasses and rubbed his forehead. "Fifteen new students, I assume they are not all first years," at her shake of the head, "Hogwarts has never accepted transfer students but now it seems we have sixteen in one year." He took a lemon drop from a dish on his desk and popped it in his mouth; he held the dish out to her "Lemon drop?"

"No thanks, I must be going."

"Very well then."

A/N: quick question to any readers more knowledgable than I - When memories are removed from the mind to be viewed in a pensieve are they gone from the mind or is just a copy taken?