A/N: Thank you for all the reviews and the follows and favorites. I am sorry for the slow updates. The updates will continue to be sporadic as I will be writing when the inspiration strikes and when I am feeling a bit silly. I will not be abandoning this story though.
As always, if you have a question, I will do my best to answer through PM.
Happy Reading
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter
On Saturday Morning, the Great Hall was once again filled with students and teachers. The Gryffindors had arrived first and settled down at their own table to eat breakfast, but they had been pulled up from their seats by the Slytherins when they arrived and then drug over to the Slytherin table.
"You can sit over here today. It is bad enough that we have to share family with you Gryffindors, you can sit over here part of the time…family unity and all that." Lucius pulled James Potter into the seat next to him. James just rolled his eyes at the blond and turned to Lily for conversation as Lucius had immediately ignored him in favor of conversation with Narcissa.
Across the table, the other marauders were making wild guesses about what they would find out today, causing James to laugh uproariously. The Slytherin table had never been so boisterous. Across from Lucius, Severus Snape was blushing as Lucius and Regulus questioned him about where he had disappeared to right before the dance had ended.
"I noticed that you and your little blond disappeared before it was time go back to our dorms. In fact." Lucius had a wicked smirk on his face as Severus glared at him from across the table. "I don't remember seeing you in our rooms then either. My my, what did you get up to last night?"
Regulus was snickering as he rewrote his unanswered questions on a fresh sheet of parchment. The other parchment was full of tiny writing that was hard to read since Regulus had been distracted while listening to the traveler's story. When reviewing the questions later, he had found that he had not been as detailed as he had wanted to be. Now he was happily making sure that his questions were all legible and that there were notes on what little information he had on a few of the questions that had come up but needed more information. He was hopeful that he would not be nearly as confused today.
"Shut up Lucius." Severus hissed across the table, the blush spreading across his cheeks.
The conversation ground to a halt when the parents arrived in the hall and conjured chairs behind their children. Sirius winced as his mother and father, once again, chose to sit right behind him. He just knew that he was going to be paranoid by the end of this story if his mother continued to sit near him. She is doing this on purpose. She just wants to see you squirm, don't squirm, don't squirm. Dammit. Sirius winced as his mother pinched him in the arm and told him to stop squirming. She then proceeded to adjust his tie while clucking her tongue.
The Lovegoods conjured their chairs right behind Severus and proceeded to tell the boy that he was invited on their next trip to Sweden for their ongoing search for a Crumple-Horned Snorkack. Severus just stared at them blankly as they talked while Regulus just blinked down at his parchment and wondered if he should add that question or create a new list for the Lovegoods.
Finally, Regulus pulled out a blank parchment and wrote Lovegood at the top and placed the question there. Quill at the ready, he leaned over to Severus. "Severus, what is a Crumple-Horned Snorkack?"
Severus pulled his attention away from the two Lovegoods that were telling him about the places that they had looked for the creature before to address his friend's question. "I have no idea, but it could probably be used as a potion ingredient." Regulus nodded and made a note on his parchment about the question being unanswered while Severus turned back to the Lovegoods while they told him about some other creature he had never heard of. He poked Regulus in the side. "Write down Wrackspurts…I don't know what that is either, but apparently it has the ability to dull the senses or something."
When the doors to the Great Hall opened, all attention turned to see if the travelers had arrived. When the three girls from the other dimension were the only ones that came in, the occupants of the Great Hall sighed in disappointment almost in unison. The three girls made their way over to the Slytherin table without acknowledging the murmured questions from the other tables about the whereabouts of the boys.
Hermione claimed a seat beside Narcissa, Daphne made a beeline towards Sirius, while Luna skipped her way over to Severus. The room watched in shock as Luna took her seat and then pulled a blushing Severus down so that she could snog him senseless. As the kiss continued, some of the students from the other tables stood up so that they could see better while most of the Slytherins were just blinking in shock.
"I guess we know where he disappeared to last night now." Lucius finally said with a smirk.
Severus glared at the blond once he came up for air before looking down at his plate and blushing even brighter. Luna just snuggled into his side and stole a bite of toast off of the plate Kreacher had provided that section of the Slytherin table with that morning.
The traveler's new family members had all been surprised when Kreacher was the one that provided their meals because 'Kreacher is being making sure that nothings is beings happenings to Kreacher's Masters' Families.' The only elves that were allowed to provide anything for the adults or the teens associated with the Travelers were the elves under Kreacher's training.
The three girls told everyone good morning with sleepy smiles before they turned their attention to their breakfasts.
After a moment of silence from the great hall, Abraxas Malfoy cleared his throat. "Ahem, and where are the boys this morning?"
None of the adults missed the fact that both Hermione and Daphne froze for a moment before relaxing and smiling sweetly. Hermione was the one to answer. "Oh, they had something they wanted to take care of today and got up really early. Harry said something about…'male bonding,' I think.
The adults just narrowed their eyes and looked towards the door as though they expected the boys to walk through at any moment. Walburga stood up and cast a spell towards the door before she sat back down. Sirius was just looking from the door to his mother and back again. He desperately wanted to know what that spell was, but did not want to have to actually ask the question. The smirk on her face did not bode well, however.
"What spell did you use Burggie?" Dorea asked with a hint of amusement in her voice.
"Audire Omnia." Walburga said with a smirk at her cousin.
"Listen to all. Very nice spell. Am I correct that we will be able to hear any conversation that happens in the hall?"
"We will indeed." At Walburga's comment, Hermione and Daphne both snickered, causing a few brows to be raised. The girls both continued to eat their breakfast while ignoring the questioning glances that were aimed in their direction.
The adults went back to conversing between themselves as they waited for the rest of the travelers to show up and for breakfast to be over.
It was about an hour later, after everyone had eaten and the tables had been cleared, when those in the Great Hall first heard anything from the spell that Walburga Black had cast.
"I HATE YOU!" Brows around the Great Hall as everyone's attention turned towards the doors.
"You know you love me Draco." The chirpy reply was from the voice they recognized as Harry.
"No, I really do not. What the hell, Potty. I. Hate. You."
The room was also able to recognize the voice of Neville when he began to speak. "You are fine Draco, and look, all showered and clean…"
"Shut it, you bloody puff. I hate you too!" The boys were clearly standing outside the doors to the Great Hall. The three girls were snickering and covering their smiles with their hands as they listened to the conversation taking place outside
"You said that you wanted to know what it was like, well…now you do. And look…you rhymed…fun, right?." Harry's voice chirped.
"I. Hope. You. Die. I hope that Fluffy comes back to use you as a chew toy. I hope that you get eaten by an Acromantula the next time you see one. I hope that the ROR makes a mistake and buries you in a bottomless pile of pillows that slowly smother you to death. I hope that Dementors come and…well…okay…not Dementors, but only because I will probably be standing near you and get kissed by accident." Wide eyes around the Great Hall were staring at the door in fascination as Draco came up with ways that he hoped Harry would die. "I hope that you…that you..."
"Oh come on Draco, It was not that bad. You had a stunned rooster with you and everything." Neville sounded exasperated. "Perfectly safe."
At his comment about the rooster, most of the people in the Great Hall made faces as they tried to figure out what the boys had been doing that morning. Everyone but the three girls and Regulus at the Slytherin table looked confused. Regulus was writing as fast as he could manage and therefore did not have time to waste on being confused. Why did Draco have a stunned rooster? Honestly…these people are strange.
"Not that bad? Not that Bad?" The two Malfoys in the Great Hall winced at the way Draco was carrying on outside the door. "You two, bloody well woke me up at the ass crack of dawn…did not let me have coffee or anything to wake me up…"
"Kreacher said that you are not allowed coffee anymore after the time…"
"I am not bloody well finished. Not only did you wake me up and drag my ass out of bed before anyone with any sense would have been out of bed."
"Well, we did not want to get caught…"
"Stop interrupting me Scar Head." Draco hissed before he continued his rant. "You hand me a bloody chicken and then drag my still half asleep ass through this drafty castle, only to make me go down that…that…THERE WAS SLIME…AND IT TOUCHED ME!"
"But you are all clean now, look, you hair looks perfect now." Neville comforted the blond. "Not a bit of slime on you."
through the door, the occupants of the great hall could almost hear Draco Malfoy snarl. Regulus was still writing away. Why and where was there slime?
Oh come on…Mione told me we needed to do more bonding stuff, and you have to admit…you had fun." Harry still seemed to be in a happy mood to those listening to the conversation with the help of Walburga's spell. Some of the occupants of the Great Hall looked at the girls with raised brows when they could not stop giggling.
"Enduring moments of sheer terror are not bonding moments, Potty. Watching Die Hard is a bonding moment."
"You know, we should watch that tonight. I could go for some Die Hard. That Villain in the first movie is utterly terrifying…I swear…he reminds me of someone." Neville's voice softened at the end of his comment, as though he was lost in thought.
"I think that we could manage to watch them tonight…I know that Krea…"
"Excuse me! Sheer Terror! Can you both focus for a moment? I HATE YOU BOTH!"
"What? Would you have rather I have taken Mione? It was absolute hell talking her out of it and the way I managed to talk her out of it was so that we could use the experience as bonding time. You know…just the guys."
"Of course I don't want Hermione to go down there you crazy person! I didn't want to go down there!" Draco paused for a moment. "And that was not a bonding experience. You should not have to shower after a bonding experience!"
"I thought it was exciting." Neville offered.
"Thanks Nev."
"You are both bloody insane. Who does shit like that? You are not John McClain or Rambo or Indiana Jones." Regulus's quill sped up so that he would not miss anything. He now wanted to know who those people were.
"Oh come on, Ferret. I did do this before, you know." Harry sounded exasperated now. "Not only that, but I did it while I was twelve with a bloody sward and other stuff going on. This time was a breeze."
"I hate you."
"You love me."
"Are we going in now?" Everyone perked up at Neville's question.
"I don't know." Harry's response sounded unsure.
"What now?" Draco was clearly irritated. There was a short silence on the other side of the door that caused a few people to look around in confusion.
"Our mums are in there."
"Yes…and? Do you want congratulations for that keen assessment?"
"No…it's just…well…they are a bit scary, and we have to talk about second year today."
"Oh. That is a good point. Mother has a really tight grip." Draco sounded as though he was deep in thought as he agreed with the other two boys. The three young mothers sitting at the Slytherin table were looking at the door with narrowed eyes now. "Alright. Here is what we will do. Don't sit with the mothers. There. Issue fixed. Do you see that Scar Head…that is called telling others the plan instead of dragging them off to gain a new nightmare."
"Yeah yeah. You had fun and you know it."
"I still hate you both."
"And we love you too." Neville replied right as the doors opened.
The three boys walked in and raised their brows at the all attention that was focused on them. Draco sniffed as he looked around, already realizing that everyone had heard everything.
"It is rude to eavesdrop on private conversations." He turned his nose in the air and walked towards the Slytherin table, where he slipped into the small space between his father and James Potter. He made sure not to look directly at his mother, whose glare he could feel from the other side of his father. Maybe I should have sat further away. The Hufflepuffs would not bruise me. Maybe tomorrow.
Both Neville and Harry sighed in relief when they realized that all the mums were sitting on one side of the table. They quickly made their way to the other side where Neville squeezed in between Regulus and a surprised Remus. Harry made his way to the other side of Regulus and squeezed in between him and a frowning Severus. The boys on either side of Regulus noticed the parchment that he had spread out on the table and smiled when they saw some of the questions listed on the parchment while wincing at others as they read.
"Good Morning. I hope you guys enjoyed breakfast." Harry smiled innocently around the table.
Lily just frowned from her place across the table. "You think I am scary?"
"Um…"
"How can you think I am scary?"
Alice nodded. "And me? I am the least scary person I know."
Neville and Harry just stared at the two girls while trying not to move or blink.
"Oh just ignore them Aunt Alice and Aunt Lily." Daphne finally broke the tense silence. "Neither of them knew you growing up…so they have no frame of reference to deal with motherly types…that and you tried to smother them with your breasts. I am sure that was fairly traumatizing." Daphne ignored the stares that she received as she took a sip of her tea.
"What do you mean that Neville did not know me? Where was I?" Alice yelled all of a sudden, causing Neville to flinch and look at her with wide eyes.
"Umm…didn't we tell you already?" He asked softly.
"NO!"
'Umm…" Neville just stared at his mum for a moment before looking at Daphne with pleading eyes.
"Oh…alright. I suppose that I can tell her. He grew up with his grandmother because you and Uncle Frank here were tortured into insanity the same night that the Potters were killed by Bellatrix and her favorite curse…Crucio." Daphne sounded as though she were listing ingredients for a Potions quiz as she explained to the horrified room what had happened to the Longbottoms in the other world.
Alice looked like she was about to tackle Neville from across the table and smother him again, causing the boy to latch on the Remus and pull him slightly in front of him as though he were a shield.
Remus just blinked at the people across the table from his new position. He was leaning in front of the boy and was practically sitting in his lap. James just smiled evilly at him as he tried to wiggle away from the boy that was using him as a human shield, but Neville was not letting go as he hid behind the slightly taller boy.
Alice finally sat back in her seat and continued to stare across the table. Neville peaked around Remus and observed the girl on the other side for any indication that she would be coming across the table before slowly allowing Remus to move back into a normal seating position. It was clear to everyone in the room that he was prepared to yank the boy back in front of him at any moment.
Severus looked suspicious at the boy beside him and hissed quietly. "Don't even think about it." Harry just smiled up at the boy while Luna giggled.
"I think I will need to have a talk with that girl." Orion muttered as he watched Daphne lean over and whisper something in Sirius's ear, causing him to blush. He was completely ignoring the rest of the table while watching the blond flirt with his heir.
"Good morning to you to Harry, my boy." Dumbledore spoke from his seat at the head table while twinkling down at the Slytherin table. "I am sure that we are all interested to hear about your morning, as it seems that you had so much more…fun…than we did." Dumbledore was hoping that whatever the boys had done, that it would not cause him to be in trouble with any of the parents or students that were the travelers' parents. He agreed with Harry, Lily Evans was one scary witch.
"Oh. Nothing to worry about professor, just a bit of brotherly bonding." Harry tossed a bit of toast from the plate Kreacher provided towards Draco, who had snorted. "Have to make sure that we have plenty of time to...well…bond. It's important you know." Harry looked up and blinked innocently at the Headmaster.
Had the whole population of the Great Hall not been privy to the argument outside the doors, the Headmaster would have probably believed the boy as he explained that they had just needed some brotherly bonding time. As it stood, Dumbledore had a feeling that whatever they had done did not bode well and that it was a bad thing that Minerva had sat beside him this morning. He just closed his eyes and sighed.
"I see. Well. I must say that we are all excited to hear the next part of your story. Would you like to start where you left off…at the end of your first year?" Dumbledore looked at Harry Potter with a smile of encouragement.
"Oh…ummm. Alight." Harry looked at his mum for a moment before sighing. "Well. I went home. It was alright at first because they did not know that I could not use magic at home. I may have forgotten to tell them." A few laughs could be heard around the room and James Potter looked proud at the fact that his son had pranked his muggle relatives. "Well, they were going to have an important dinner one night and I was supposed to stay out of the way, so I went up to my room, where there was a house elf waiting on my bed."
"What? Why was there a house elf there?" James asked with a confused expression.
"Oh, Dobby…"
"Dobby? My house elf?" Abraxas asked incredulously.
"Umm. Yes?" Harry looked at the Malfoys across the table and decided to warn them in advance. "You do remember us saying that you won't like this story, right?" Harry just sighed as he received nods. Can't say that we didn't warn them. "Well, Dobby had come to tell me that I could not go back to Hogwarts because terrible things were going to happen that year."
Abraxas just pinched the bridge of his nose while the room erupted into shouts. Everyone immediately went silent when Luna stood up and looked around the room with a frown on her face. Everyone remembered her threat and decided that they would rather hear the story than have the girl put a stop to it. A few occupants of the Great Hall noticed that Harry seemed disappointed when Luna sat back down without telling them that they were done with the story for the day.
"Well…when I said that I was going, he used a Hover Charm on the cake that my aunt had made so that I would get a notice from the ministry about underage magic. The Dursleys locked me in my room and put bars on my window so that I would not be able to go back without doing magic, and since I could not do magic without getting expelled, I was stuck."
"They locked you in your room?" Harry looked around with wide eyes when the question came from Walburga instead of his mum. She was staring at him with narrowed eyes.
"Yes?" He answered as quietly as he could. Walburga just narrowed her eyes further before turning her attention across the table. She seemed to have a silent conversation with Dorea for a moment before Dorea leaned over to Lily and whispered something in her ear that made Lily grin widely at Walburga while James just paled.
"You may continue." Walburga waved a hand in Harry's direction.
"Alright. Umm…so…after that, Ron the pratt, and his two twin brothers, Fred and George, came and pulled the bars off of my window with their dad's enchanted flying car, got me and all my stuff, and took me to the Burrow where they lived. That was about it for summer."
"Enchanted flying car?" Lucius asked with wide eyes. Harry just nodded.
"That is awesome. I want one." Sirius whispered, only to flinch when his mother pinched his arm again.
"What did the…Weasleys…do when they found out that you had been locked into your room with bars on the window?" Orion asked from his seat, his voice completely calm.
"Oh, well, the twins and Ron got yelled at for taking the car, and then we had breakfast."
"And…?" Charlus asked quietly. All of the adults were staring at Harry now, even the Lovegoods.
"And what?" Harry finally asked with a confused look on his face.
"Don't be an idiot, Potty, they want to know why the Weasels did not do anything about the treatment you got from the muggles. They should have at least made a complaint to Wizarding Child Services."
Harry stood and pointed at the blond boy across the table. "SEE? I knew you loved me!"
"No I don't you insane person! I hate you!" Draco stood and leaned across the table. "I still hope you die for what you made me do this morning. SLIME!"
"Ahem." The two boys looked towards the Headmaster when he cleared his throat and looked at them expectantly. They both gave sheepish grins as they retook their seats while muttering soft apologies towards each other. It was obvious that these two boys were used to arguing and having an adult separate them.
"So…what were we talking about?" Harry looked around and flinched at the looks that he was getting from the adults in the room as well as from his mum and dad. "Oh right…Dursleys. Well, no worries, I am safe now." Harry smiled weakly around the room.
"Hn. What happened after you arrived at the Weasleys?"
"Well, we went to Diagon Alley and got our things, met the new Defense Professor. He was a bit creepy." Harry scrunched up his nose as he talked about the new professor, causing some concern from the occupants of the Great Hall. Minerva was glaring at Albus. "And then we headed of to try and catch the train on the first."
"What do you mean try? Were you late?" Sirius leaned forward so that he could see his godson as he asked his questions.
"Not really…well…sort of." Harry was now looking at the ceiling as the rest of the travelers snickered.
"What Happened Harry, dear." Dorea sighed as she asked the question. Honestly, how can one boy get into so much trouble? And to think, I thought James was bad.
"Well, okay…this is what happened…the barrier to the platform would not work and so Ron had the great idea to use the car to fly to Hogwarts…so we did, and then we landed in the wimping willow and missed the welcoming feast. That is what happened."
"You…few a car…to Hogwarts?" Severus was looking at the boy beside him in disbelief.
"I was twelve, I made questionable decisions." Harry sounded as though he were asking a question instead of making a statement. "Anyways, we were at school then…so yeah…good times." Harry looked around the table as Draco snorted, wondering if he could escape the room before the next round of questions started. The looks he was receiving did not bode well, and he had just gotten to the start of the school year. He really did not want to keep telling this story.