Chapter 5
When the thick fog finally left his vision, the first thing Al saw was his best friend and his favourite cousin sucking faces. Talk about a wake-up call.
"Merlin, my eyes!" he yelled, turning away from the unholy scene to find himself staring at two familiar looking corpses. He almost fell off his chair in shock. "What the hell?"
"Al, be quiet!" Rose whispered, smoothing the front of her robes and bending down to retrieve her and Scorpius' wands from the ground.
"I black out for two minutes and you guys manage to kill the only two people who might be able to get us out of this mess!" Al ran a shaky hand through his hair, unable to tear his eyes from the scene.
"Don't be ridiculous" Rose countered, handing Scorpius his wand, keeping her eyes carefully averted from his. "Do you really think we'd kill Ted's dad? They're just unconscious."
"But why?"
"Because your stupid drugged-self told Lupin we were here to make sure Uncle Harry never killed Voldemort, that's why! Now, stop crying and get off your butt. We have to get out of here."
"I wasn't crying!" he shot back, standing up, his legs a little wobbly. "Wait, you stunned them? Merlin, was it really impossible for you to simply tell them they had it wrong?"
"Lupin was about to stun us himself, ok? We didn't have a choice!"
"But… What do we do now?"
"We get out of this place." Rose opened the classroom door just a crack and peered out. "Al, put the cloak on." She motioned for them to follow her and frowned when Albus didn't move. "Al, let's go!"
"But where are we-"
"Shut up and get over here!"
He did as she asked, pulling his dad's cloak from his pocket and over him swiftly, mostly because Rose's eyes were shining in a pretty scary way. The three of them stepped out of the classroom, Scorpius shutting the door carefully after them, and Al followed Rose as she started to make her way toward what appeared to be the common room.
"Rose," his whisper was muffled by the piece of clothing covering his face as he barely managed to keep up with his cousin's long strides. "Where are we going?" She didn't answer, so he fell back a step to find himself walking next to his other best friend.
"Now, Malfoy," he said in a low voice in what he hoped came out as a threatening tone. "Did I really just see you snog my cousin back there?"
"Yeah," Scorpius answered easily, his eyes seeming very far away. "It was pretty amazing."
Disgusted more than anything by the dreamy look on his friend's face, Al made a retching sound, hoping his feelings concerning the matter were well conveyed despite the fact that Scorpius couldn't see his face.
oOo
"A broom closet?" Al muttered, wedging himself in the almost non-existent space so that Rose could shut the door after him. "Seriously?"
"We need to figure this out, now." Rose answered him, pushing her hair out of her face and sitting down cross-legged on the filthy floor. "Don't interrupt me."
Scorpius shared a look with Albus, and they both sat down next to her, Al taking the cloak off and putting it back into his pocket silently.
"We're stuck in the past. Today is July 28th, 1997. Our parents are seventeen and this is the middle of the war."
"Right."
"I said to shut it, Al. We don't know how we were sent here or how to get back to our own time. We just attacked the only two people who might have been able to help us. We know how Uncle Harry defeats Voldemort, which is pretty dangerous information to be carrying around, considering. If any of his followers knew about us, they could torture this knowledge out of us, thus making sure the good guys never win the war. Which would be majorly bad. We need somewhere to hide, but more importantly, we need help to get back to our own time. I will now be taking questions." Rose looked at the two of them expectantly while Al seriously considered raising his hand to voice his opinion on the matter.
"Can't we stay here?" he muttered, his ego finally ruling against it. "Hogwarts is safe."
"Al, I don't think we'll be able to figure out how to get back home by brainstorming in a broom closet; we need outside help. Plus, remember there are bad guys here. Do the names Alecto and Amycus ring a bell?"
"You know, I listen to the war stories just as much as you do. Don't be such a schoolteacher."
"We can't stay in here forever, Al. We need to find a way to get home and Hogwarts is dangerous. I will now be taking relevant questions," Rose continued dryly, emphasizing the word she'd just added to her earlier statement. Al frowned at her.
"What if we went to Snape?" Scorpius whispered, his expression thoughtful. "He is a good guy, after all." Rose hesitated.
"You know, I admire Severus Snape just as much as the next person. But would he really believe us? Plus, I'm not exactly itching to meet the guy. He was kind of a bastard, all things considered. No offence to your namesake, Al."
"None taken. It's such a stupid name, too. Did you know our Uncle George still calls him "the slimy git"?"
"Guys, I get that," Scorpius tried again, rubbing his forehead tiredly, "but what if he's the only one who can help us out?"
"He isn't," Rose answered automatically, before biting down on her lower lip.
"What d'you mean?" Al asked, turning towards her in surprise. "Who else is there?"
Rose hesitated, pulling on one of her curls. Finally, she raised her head decidedly and faced the two boys, her chin high.
"They are people who might believe our story, if we were able to give them enough evidence. They would also be able to help us figure out how to get back home; they would hide us and keep us safe while we do so. And since this is July 28th 1997, they're also currently all staying together someplace pretty easy to find."
"You don't mean…" Al trailed off, eyes widening. Rose sighed exasperatedly and ran a hand over her face.
"Yes, I do, Al. Think about it. Our parents really are the only one who can help us now."
oOo
He was shocked silent for about two and a half seconds. Then, along with his voice, came an unexpected surge of anger.
"No, Rose. No way."
"Al, this might be the only way-"
"Rose, look at me! I can't walk into the Burrow looking like a carbon copy of my seventeen year old dad! How'd you think he'd react? What if the rest of the Order thinks we're spies too? You're the one who's been talking about laying low and not altering the time stream all this time and now you want us to go and meet our teenage parents? Are you completely out of your mind?"
Her lower lip began trembling but her voice was steady when she answered:
"What else would you have us do, then? Go back to McGonagall and Lupin?"
"That's out of the question," Scropius answered before he could. "Who knows what they'll do-"
"Yeah, stunning them senseless pretty much underlined the fact that we were evil, didn't it, Scorp? Nice move there, by the way." Al shot back. The blue eyes narrowed as they bore into the green ones.
"No fighting," Rose cautioned, putting a hand on Scorpius' arm. "We don't have time for this. We have to get back home."
"How?" Al all but shouted at her.
"By getting help! And, I'm sorry, but our family seems to be the only ones who can provide this help!"
Al put his face into his hands, breathing deeply. In, out. "Rose, this isn't some story in one of your books. The point of all of this isn't that we end up meeting our parents in the end, okay? This is real!"
"I know that," she answered stiffly. "But do we really have a choice?"
"Yes, we do. And I'm not about to run to the Burrow and ruin the future like you seem dead set on doing." Al managed to get up with as much dignity as he could muster, despite the crowded conditions of the little broom closet, as Rose's eyes turned to slits at the accusation.
"Oh, really?" Her voice was like ice. "Would you mind sharing that brilliant and clearly superior idea of yours so we can accompany His Majesty on his quest?"
"You can do whatever you bloody like," Al muttered, shrugging the cloak back on. "I'm going to ask a certain namesake of mine for his help. End of story."
oOo
They were just walking along the third corridor to get to the Headmaster's office when Albus spoke up again, staring straight ahead.
"Sorry for being a bit harsh back there, Rose."
The two of them could never stay mad at each other for very long. Scorpius coughed to hide his knowing smile. Rose walked on, straight as an arrow beside her cousin.
"It's okay. But I'm not taking anything back. I still think going to Snape is a bad idea."
"Well, if it turns out to be a stupid decision, you guys can always Stun him. You seem to be enjoying the thrill of it lately." Al replied curtly, shifting his gaze to Rose who grinned slightly. Before she could answer however, shouts came from behind them, and all three wheeled around. James was just turning the corner, running at full speed towards them. Without even meaning to, Al ripped the cloak from his face, staring with wide eyes at this person who looked very much like his brother. The bouncing, messy red hair, the freckles and devious brown eyes, the pair of ripped jeans and the shirt Lily had gotten him for his last birthday – it was all there. But James couldn't possibly be here, in 1997. How on earth had he managed to-
"Al!" James yelled, calling him back to reality. "Run!" Al shifted his numb gaze to the two floating black cloaks chasing after his brother, and he almost dropped his wand in surprise. The Carrows.
Shit.
oOo
Hehe =) Bet you didn't see that one coming !