Tumble Through Time

Chapter Two

The walk to the Headmaster's office was a familiar one for Teddy and the pair made it to the stone gargoyle faster than they had expected. They stood in front of the entrance and paused.

"Damn it. We don't even know the password." Teddy groaned in frustration.

"We really need to see the Headmaster. Please, please let us in." Victoire pleaded to the gargoyle. Much to her delight, and major surprise, the gargoyle sprang to life and revealed the familiar spiraling staircase. They hopped on and rode it to the top.

The door swung open before Teddy even had a chance to knock. He marvelled at how different the office looked from the way his current Headmaster kept it. They saw Dumbledore stationed at his desk, looking at them expectantly. He looked very similar to the portrait they had talked to on many occasions, just a few years younger. His beard wasn't as long and he looked less worn than they were used to.

Teddy couldn't help but stare. Finally, Dumbledore spoke up. "And who might the two of you be? I've been expecting you."

"Sorry..." Victoire looked a bit perplexed. "You've been expecting us?"

"No one enters my castle without my knowledge. For the most part, anyways." He stood up and drew up two chairs for Teddy and Victoire to sit in in front of his desk. "Two people appear, as if by Apparition, in the middle of my library and I figure they'll make it here at some point. Please sit." He nodded his head towards the chairs.

"You're Dumbledore. Wow..." Teddy whispered as he sat. "You're a bit shorter than I expected."

Dumbledore chuckled as he sat, as well. "I don't think I've ever heard that one before, young man."

"I'm sorry, Headmaster. I'm used to talking to your portrait." Teddy smiled sheepishly.

"My portrait, eh? Interesting. So, how did two young children manage to Apparate into my castle at one o'clock in the morning?"

Victoire sighed, going over her explanation in her head. "This is going to sound extremely... Odd. But... We aren't from here, exactly. Well, we are, but... We are kind of from... Well, the future, so to speak."

Victoire paused waiting for Dumbledore to speak. "Go on." was all he said, listening intently.

"You see, we were in the library studying and this book we had started giving off a very strange light. Next thing we know, we're still in the library, but in 1976 instead of... Instead of 2014."

"Do you have this book?" Dumbledore asked. Victoire pulled it out of Teddy's backpack and handed it over. Dumbledore flipped through the blank pages, mulling over the very last page.

"The pages had been wiped clean when we arrived here, but that message had appeared. I don't think the book has been written yet and that's why it's empty. The message is puzzling, though."

Dumbledore hmm'd as he closed the book. "Well, I believe we will have to make arrangements for the two of you until we can figure out how to get you home, if at all."

"We could be stuck here?" Teddy finally spoke up.

"I'm not sure. Time is a very tricky thing to be dealing with. We need to figure out just exactly how this happened. I guess we'll just have to keep you here until we can know for sure. What year and house are the two of you?"

"He's a Sixth Year and I'm a Fifth Year. We're both Gryffindor." Victoire answered a little too fast and Dumbledore glanced at her knowingly. She blushed and looked at the floor. "I'm a Ravenclaw." She said, quietly.

"But you would be more comfortable together, would you not?" Victoire and Teddy both nodded at the Headmaster. "Then it's settled. You both can belong to Gryffindor."

"But I'm not supposed to be a..." Victoire began.

"You aren't supposed to be here, either, are you?" Dumbledore winked.

"Headmaster... My father is attending this school right now. He's 16 like I am. Won't that mess with anything?"

"As long as you don't let it slip who you are, I shouldn't see a problem with it."

"But it's a bit complicated. He- uh- he and my mother died when I was just a few months old. I- I don't know how I might react to him."

"And who might your father be?"

"Remus Lupin, sir."

"And that would make you...?"

Victoire blushed. "We never told you our names. I'm so sorry. He's Teddy. And I'm Victoire Weasley."

"Mr. Lupin, Ms. Weasley, I trust that you will make the right decisions when it comes to Remus. Now, the two of you are in a relationship?" Victoire and Teddy nodded, slightly embarrassed. "A secret one, judging by your reactions."

"Yes, Headmaster. You see, he lives with his godfather and his godfather is my uncle by marriage. We haven't said anything because we don't know just how they'll react."

"May I be so bold as to assume that you might have shared a bed to sleep before?" Victoire blushed crimson, glancing at the floor once more. "Far be it from me to judge about what may or may not be acceptable in the 21st century, Ms. Weasley. I'm just trying to assess where to house you for the night until I can speak with Professor McGonagall in the morning. If you aren't opposed to sharing sleeping quarters tonight, I believe I have a place for you." Teddy and Victoire nodded and rose out of their chairs. Teddy pulled on his backpack and the two teenagers followed Dumbledore out of his office.

They followed him silently until they reached a door a couple floors above the Headmaster's office. "This room will be your sleeping quarters for the night. Professor McGonagall and I will return in the morning to get the two of you situated. Good night."

"Thank you, Headmaster." Victoire smiled as Dumbledore began retreating down the hall. DUmbledore turned his head and nodded before disappearing around the corner.

Teddy slowly opened the door and walked in with Victoire walking cautiously behind him. The room contained a fireplace surrounded by a couple couches and a nice fluffy armchair, a nice king sized bed, a wardrobe, and a door leading to a bathroom. It was decorated in all shades of blue. There was a giant window next to the bed with deep blue drapes and the bed was covered in sheets of baby blue.

"You tired anymore, Vic?" Teddy asked, dropping his backpack on the floor and walking around inspecting the room as he pulled off his t-shirt.

Victoire shook her head as she pulled open the wardrobe to find sets of male and female pajamas of all sorts that looked to be their sizes. "Maybe if I lay down I will be, but at the moment my head is reeling." As she closed the wardrobe, Teddy wrapped his arms around her waist and buried his head in her neck, kissing it gently. "What if we can't go back?" She whispered.

"Dumbledore's a genius, from what we've always been told. He'll figure something out. We won't be stuck here forever."

Victoire turned around, still in Teddy's arms. "But you can't promise that, can you?"

"I promise that I will be here with you no matter what. Even if we're stuck in this timeline for the rest of our lives, I will never leave you. I will always be here. Maybe I can't promise that we'll get home, but I can promise that you won't be alone. Is that okay?"

Victoire sighed, resting her head on Teddy's chest. "I love you."

"And I, you. Come on, love. Let's get to bed."

Victoire closed her eyes for a second before nodding and slipping off her jeans. Teddy crawled into bed and she followed shortly after. Victoire curled up as close as she could to Teddy and he flung his arm over her, pulling her closer, and holding her tightly. "Goodnight." He whispered, kissing the top of her head.

Victoire groaned, already half-asleep, and Teddy smiled into her hair before drifting off, as well.

X X X