Summary – Sixteen year old James, Sirius and Remus have been thrown into an alternate, twisted dimension where the worlds of Reality and Harry Potter collide. Imagine all the insanity they can get into armed with a knowledge from the Books and Muggle technology—And still very mischievous minds—inside not only Hogwarts grounds, but the magical world.
Inspired by the infamous list of 586/807 things I'm not allowed to do at Hogwarts; I decided I wanted to write a fic with some of these insane things happening and deigned that Sirius and James would be the best puppets for this sort of thing. Feel free to chime in with ideas along the way!
Just to make things clear; I'm going by the Lexicon's time line for ages and dates and what-not. I know there's a lot of muddled answers in that area, so I'm just gonna stick to this time line as best I can. If anyone comes up with anything more accurate or can help me figure out ages, birth dates and what-not, it is most welcomed! Also, since this is a mixed world I'm moving up the book publishing dates.
Remus – Teenager; Lupin – Adult
Alright! Here we go!
Disclaimer:I do not own Harry Potter (J.K Rowling), or the List (kupika's Demonic_Angel and a multitude of others). I'm simply using them for my amusement and the amusement of others.
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Chapter III
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The question hung heavily in the air between the past and the future as the two stared each other in the face. Indeed, what was to be done now—if the adults even believed their story. Thinking back over it, James figured that the entire thing sounded rather off, even to him. And he had experienced the entire ordeal himself. Granted, the adults had only received a rather short over-view version of the events. The three hadn't seen fit to tell the adults they had been able to preform magic in the Muggle library, and had withheld that Sirius and James were animagi since they weren't sure how much these people knew about their future selves.
"Well..." Dumbledore began, "To begin with, we are in need of confirming your identities. Your story is very difficult to believe, though I do believe there is a plausible explanation if it proves true."
"I believe we've somehow fallen forward in time, and slipped into a parallel universe." Remus suddenly spoke, sitting straight up with his hands clasped in his lap, "It's unheard of, I know, but it's also the only reasonable explanation that I can come up with for why I would have been thrust forward twenty one years in time and meet my adult self."
The occupants of the room stared at him for a moment. James and Sirius seemed to be staring at him as if he had lost it once and for all. This irked the werewolf; of all people, they should be agreeing with him! After all, they knew the full story and he knew that they knew that he knew they knew about the basic laws of the universe and time travel—It wasn't possible for there to be two of the same person in a universe outside of a small time loop created from using a time-turner to go back in time. Had they simply moved forward, then his adult self shouldn't be there. They would have been considered missing for the twenty one years they had traveled through in the vortex.
"...That makes sense." Sirius finally spoke up, smiling, "I mean, I guess. I've been trying to wrap my head around how it's possible for there to be two Moony's in one world and now that you talk about it... That really is the best answer."
"Yeah." James nodded, crossing his arms behind his head, "So that vortex-thing took us to another world where time is accelerated from ours?"
"That's one way of putting it..." Remus smiled, relaxing when he realized that his friends were on his side. It would have been easy for them to just claim he'd gone bonkers or something...
"A very plausible theory..." His adult self murmured, turning to look at the Headmaster, then Moody, "Alastor, how do you purpose going about to make sure that they are who they claim to be?"
"Well, there's a number of tests but the only way to know for sure would be to ask them something that only they could know." The ex-Auror replied, scowling at the three teens distrustfully, "But I'll say now, they aren't using Polyjuice potion. It's been over an hour since the Weasleys called for us."
"Polyjuice potion... Nasty stuff." Sirius cut a face, before holding up a hand and stating in a matter-of-fact tone, "Not to be used with animal hair."
"That one was hard to explain." James remembered, snickering, "You didn't stop barking for a week."
"Hey, it seemed like a good idea at the time..."
Lupin smiled suddenly, recalling the incident when Sirius, Peter and James had swiped a vial of Polyjuice potion from the advanced Potions class earlier on in their fifth year. Sirius had been very determined that it would be a good way to find out more about his animagus form. He hadn't even found out about the whole plot until it was too late—Otherwise he would have reminded his friends about the potion being meant only to be used to transform into other humans. Instead, he had wound up scolding the three for going ahead with a plan without telling him about it. Looking at his younger self now, it was clear that he was remembering as well; a fond smile playing at his lips.
"Very well, I'll go ahead and question them, then." He spoke, nodding to the other two adults, "After all, I was there back then and if these supposed worlds are anything alike..."
"Ohh, quiz time." Sirius grinned, looking at Remus, "What do you think you'll ask?"
"It wouldn't be very fair if I told you." Was the reply, though the teen was smirking, "Besides, it's not really me. It's...The other me."
"Because that totally rolls off the tongue." James rolled his eyes, before ginning as well, "Alright, full Moony, shoot."
Glancing at the Headmaster, Lupin waited for a nod before clearing his throat and asking calmly, "What are your animagus forms?"
The three froze, tensing up almost immediately. Then, without a word, Sirius and James sprang off their seat and grabbed Lupin by the arms, dragging him across the room with Remus in tow. He didn't see all that surprised, and appropriately stooped down when they yanked on his arms.
"What are you doing?" Sirius hissed.
"Are you trying to get us in trouble?" James asked with a scowl, "No one's supposed to know about that!"
"Yeah, it'll ruin everything if the adults find out."
"Guys, I think it's safe to say that the adults here already know." Remus spoke up calmly, looking at his adult self, "Am I right?"
When Lupin nodded, the two dark haired teens stared at him in disbelief for a moment. Then, glancing at each other, they sighed and dragged the two werewolves back over to the other two adults before sitting down. They looked hard between the Headmaster and Moody, obviously distrusting. It took a gentle sigh and nudge from Remus to prompt them into answering.
"Oh, alright. I'm a stag." James sniffed, sitting up straighter in a show of pride.
"And I'm a mutt." Sirius grinned, scratching behind his ear lightly and 'oofing' when James elbowed him in the side.
"You're not a mutt, I wish you'd stop saying that." James grumbled, glaring up at his friend.
"Yeah, even you don't deserve that, Padfoot." Remus agreed softly, frowning at his long-haired friend, "After all, mutt is so... I don't know, demeaning. Besides, people probably mistake you for the Grim more often."
Snickering, Sirius shrugged, "Alright then, I'm the Grim. Fear my power of death predictability!"
He raised jumped off from the arm of James' chair, shifting into a great black dog mid-leap. Padfoot landed in the middle of the room and spun around to face the others with a loud bark. He stood up straight, tail wagging furiously before bounding back over to sit between the grinning forms of James and Remus. They both automatically reached out to scratch behind either of his ears.
"Is that enough proof for you lot, or do you want me to transform, too?" James asked, grinning triumphantly.
"Actually..." Lupin started, looking a bit overwhelmed, "Would you mind bringing Prongs out?"
The messy haired boy blinked at the man with a slight frown before shrugging and hopping out of his seat. He had the foresight to move to the center of the room, where there was plenty of floor space, before transforming into a majestic but young stag. Prongs pawed at the ground, tossing his head a bit restlessly in the enclosed space. Remus automatically stood and went over too pat the top of his head between the horns. Lupin joined his younger self almost without realizing it, a sad smile on his features—Barely daring to believe he was there let alone pet him. Within minutes, James shifted back to find Sirius lounging in his chair, grinning.
"Thief." He grumbled, sticking his tongue out and grinning when the gesture was returned. "Just count yourself lucky I don't have my wand."
"Yeah, same goes here." The Black heir returned, before sitting up a bit straighter to look at Dumbledore, "Speaking of; can we get those back now? I mean, we did just prove that we're who we said we are."
"I don't see why not." Raising his wand, Dumbledore returned the Marauders' wands to them, "There is still much we need to discuss, but I believe it can wait until tomorrow. For now..." He handed a note to Fawkes, who vanished in a flash of flame, "Professor McGonnagall will meet you in the Great Hall. I'm sure the house elves will be more than accommodating in providing whatever food you would like."
"Wicked!" The three teens exclaimed at once, jumping to a stand. Without another word, they darted from the office.
Once the teens were gone, Lupin fell heavily into the chair closest to him and Moody stomped over to the fireplace. Within seconds, they were joined by Authur Weasley and Kingsley Shacklebolt, both looking a weary and rather confused; though, Kingsley hid it better than Authur did. The adult werewolf straightened up in his seat and nodded to the two males in greeting. The gesture was returned before the Auror turned to look at Dumbledore with a frown.
"What's this Alastor was saying about old friends?"
"Not quite so old..." Lupin muttered softly, once again leaning back in the chair and raising a hand to rub his forehead, "You always choose the most interesting wordings for things."
"It is a delicate matter, Remus." Dumbledore soothed, before nodding to the two new arrivals and offering his candy dish to both, "I don't suppose you'd like a lemon drop? No? Very well, let us get to the matter for which you were asked here... It will take quite a lot of explaining, I'm afraid, so you may want to conjure up some more chairs."
Glancing between one another, the two men did as suggested and conjured a pair of comfortable looking chairs to sit in while Moody took the last seat beside Lupin. Once sure he had their attention, Dumbledore started to recount the day's events. Several times, either Authur or Kingsley tried to interrupt but he held up a hand to quiet them before continuing. It was the best way to do this; get the full story out there before letting any speculation and questioning start. Especially since there would be plenty of both happening with the story being told now. It was very hard to believe for the three adults who had heard it first—despite having seen Prongs and Padfoot again for their own eyes.
He had nearly forgotten how to breathe several times that night. First, when his own—younger—voice had broke through Sirius' and Moody's arguing. Then, when his younger self had edge into view; that one had been doubled when the teenaged forms of James and Sirius had darted out hastily after him with cries of protest. It had been hard to believe his own eyes, his own ears as he listened to the familiar way that Sirius and his younger self bickered good naturedly. How James casually got between them when he got tired of hearing their voices fighting over nothing in particular. Even when Sirius and James had cracked the joke about his disease...
Those hadn't been the hardest thing for him, though. Because even with all the certainty he had from their manner and attitudes about who they were... There had still been a chance that they weren't the young Marauders—minus Pettigrew. All chance of uncertainty had vanished though when the two dark-haired boys had transformed. Animagi were tricky things, they took a person's soul and gave it an appearance in the form of an animal or beast. There was no lying to oneself when you were looking at your best friends' inner beasts—their souls—right in the eye. It just wasn't possible anymore after that and he had to repress the pain from everything he had lost in this war. James and Lily to a prophecy, Peter to betrayal and Sirius... A death and pain still too fresh to be able to think about, even vaguely.
Suddenly, Lupin felt more weary than he had in quite awhile. Even with his normal ordeals that left him haggard looking and worn down; this definitely took the cake from all that. The werewolf sat in his chair in almost a daze while Albus talked and explained the situation. He knew there wouldn't be much chance for rest until something had been decided concerning what was to be done about the young Marauders. After all, they couldn't just bring them into their midst without a proper plan—Especially when the castle was nearly completely empty. Most of the staff had gone off for the holidays, or were out on special errands for the Order. Either way, the boys definitely could not stay here throughout the summer; if they were even here for that long.
Which, seeing the only decent explanation that been provided thus far involved universal travel, it was very likely that they would be stuck here. Especially considering that such a thing was only speculation up until today. That sort of thing... Just didn't happen.
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Meanwhile, down in the Great Hall, the three Marauders were seated at a rather short table with the Head of Gryffindor house. They barely paid her any mind, busy tucking into the food they had requested, not-unkindly, from the kitchens. Of course, that didn't mean that they didn't retain their manners. Whenever McGonnagall came up with a question, Remus or James would pause to answer. So far, Sirius hadn't managed to swallow his food fast enough before the other two had finished responding. Thus, he blissfully remained silent and focused on his meal. For the most part, though, things were rather silent until they all felt full and very, very happy.
"I don't believe I've ever see anyone eat quite that much in one sitting..." McGonnagall commented in a bemused tone, "You three were certainly hungry."
"Well, Professor." Sirius piped up, leaning back in the comfortable seat that had been conjured in replace of the normal benches, "We missed lunch, were sucked through a vortex that, admittedly, scared the pants off us—"
"Had to sneak our way from a closed Muggle building without raising alarm," James chimed in, also reclining, "took a walk through London in order to find the Leaky Cauldron—"
"Convince Tom we were trustworthy and get a room before going to explore Diagon Alley," Remus continued, taking a drink from his goblet, "Where we were attacked without precedent or warning in the back of a joke shop."
"Come to think of it, we haven't really had a good day, have we?" Sirius wondered, frowning in thought, "Shouldn't we be like, really mad or something at full Moony, Auror Moody, and Professor Dumbledore?"
The other two shrugged, not seeming to be bothered by it at all. Though, Remus still looked a little preoccupied as he had been since seeing his older self—Or maybe it was the book he had been scanning at the library. Who knew. James turned his head to watch as the honey brunette swirled the little remaining liquid in his goblet around thoughtfully. It refilled itself to the brim instantly, and his hand steadied to keep from spilling pumpkin juice all over his only clothing in this time—or world, as the case may be.
"No, I don't think we should...The book ends, maybe." Remus finally commented, looking up towards Sirius, "After all, they're the ones who set us up—Not the adults."
"Book ends. I like that." Sirius snickered, exchanging a grin with James. They sobered up immediately, though, at the resulting look they received from Professor McGonnagall, "What?"
"You will refrain from calling the Weasley boys 'book ends', please." She told them in a no-nonsense tone that did far less good than Dumbledore's had.
"Why? They're twins, aren't they? I think it's a fitting description." James protested, crossing his arms in front of himself.
The Transfiguration Professor just sighed and shook her head. When the Marauders had graduated from Hogwarts, she had been filled with a mixture of pride and relief. Pride at all the things they had accomplished and the immeasurable good they would no doubt go on to use their minds for. Relief at no longer having to worry about what kind of havoc they were wreaking inside of the school with those brilliant minds. Of course, their seventh year hadn't been all that bad; especially with Lily Evans playing the active role of James Potter's conscious. However, these boys were going into their sixth year—coming fresh from their fifth. If her memory served correctly, fifth year for the Marauders had been the most troublesome and sixth was where Lily had finally managed to get through to James and, in turn, Sirius.
Lily Evans wasn't here to do that again, though. As it appeared, only the three boys had been dragged through this 'vortex'. Oh, how Minerva wished that the bright young witch had been present somehow. It was very unlikely in their fifth year, though, for the firey red head to be anywhere near the boys. So of course she wasn't dragged forward through time and space with them. Of course, she still wasn't sure on all of the details in the story but had managed to pull a general idea from her questions, the boy's chatter, and the note that Albus had sent to her with Fawkes. It was all very hard to wrap her head around, but the Head of Gryffindor house was well content to simply take it in stride and trust her friend and mentor until the time came later on to sit down and discuss it in full.
Albus trusted them and had promised a full explanation as soon as the boys were given quarters and tucked away for the night. Until then, he had requested that she kept an eye on them. An easy task so far, as they were content to eat and chat amongst themselves without leaving the Hall. Young Remus seemed to be more immersed in his thoughts than the conversation being carried with his two friends, though. Probably he was still thinking about his older self up in the Headmaster's office, she thought with a small smile.
"Professor, could I talk to you privately for a moment?" The young man in question suddenly asked, setting his goblet down on the table.
Frowning slightly, McGonnagall nodded and stood up, "Of course you may."
Waiting for the boy to stand as well, she cast a sharp 'no silly business' glance at the other two boys before leading Remus away from the table. Once they were out of earshot, she stopped and glanced over to the table. The confused, dark haired boys were watching the two of them with a sense of concern. Remus looked towards them as well, offering an encouraging smile that seemed to relax his friends; the two boys returning to whatever conversation they had been carrying before his request.
"Yes, Mister Lupin?" She finally prompted, calling his attention away from his friends.
"I was just wondering, Professor, if... Why... Since my older self is here, where are James and Sirius' older selves? And Peter?" He asked quietly, looking directly up at the teacher.
Minerva's stomach dropped at the question; she had been hoping that he wouldn't make the observation that the older versions of his friends—The James Potter, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew of this world, weren't present. Of course, it had been wishful thinking on her part. Remus Lupin was too bright, too observant to overlook such a drastic lacking in the picture of his supposed future. The Marauders that he knew would never grow up and not still do everything they possibly could together. Especially run into a perceived possibility of danger. James and Sirius would have never sat back and let him go into a fight without them, at the very least.
The suddenly grief stricken expression on her face was all he needed and Remus lowered his gaze as she spoke in a kind tone, "I can't answer your questions, dear. I'm sorry. But, perhaps it would be better if you asked yourself that question?"
"Yes, Professor..." He replied in a slightly deadened tone, turning to walk back to the table and murmuring in a voice too low for any of the others to hear, "I was afraid of that..."
He managed to hide the sudden sense of melancholy that had come over him from the other two boys. Smiling and chatting idly with them for a good space longer before restlessness began to take over. As spacious as the Great Hall was without all the house tables laid out, it still felt like they were being cooped up. The three started to try and find ways to entertain themselves. Remus pulled out a book from his bag—Amazed that not only had it survived the day he'd had, but that he'd forgotten about it completely until now. The other two started searching for ideas on what to do between themselves.
First, James had pulled out the snitch he was always carrying around with him and started playing with it until Sirius complained and pulled out a deck of cards he nicked from the library they'd been at. Those had entertained them for awhile—Charming them to do real magic tricks. At least, until Professor McGonnagall looked up from where she was grading papers and put a stop to it with a half lecture about various wizarding laws regarding charming Muggle items. So, with a pair of pouts and grumblings, the deck was put away and they tried to think of something else. Eventually the Map was quietly brought out and opened to see if it would work here the answer was yes—Almost. While their Moony appeared on the map, the adult Moony didn't. Sirius speculated that maybe he had left and really wasn't in the area, but after a veiled question to McGonnagall that idea fell out.
"Maybe it's because there's two of Moony and it's already attuned to him, so he takes priority...Or something." James muttered, scratching at the back of his neck thoughtfully.
"Yeah... That sorta makes sense, I guess." Humming, Sirius pulled out his wand and tapped the map so that it would zoom in on the hallway they had been walking before the... Incident. "We should add for the door... Just so that it'll let us know if it ever reappears."
"Agreed. You gonna do the spell?"
"Yeap. I bet I remember it best anyways—"
"Sirius."
"Okay, so Moony would probably remember best but it's been awhile since I got to update." The long haired teen pouted slightly, his eyes turning to look forlornly at his best mate, "Besides, the magic pulls it from my memory by itself...I don't need all the details at the forefront of my mind."
"Alright, alright, stop with the puppy dog look." James rolled his eyes, elbowing the other in the side, "Do the spell already, before the Professor sees."
Beaming, Sirius waved his wand and bent over the map in concentration. A moment later, he straightened and folded the map up, "I think... We should go check out what all has changed in the castle. Don't you?"
Glancing towards McGonnagall, who was still grading papers, the two boys grinned at each other. A second later they had sidled up to Remus' side and hurriedly whispered 'the plan' to him. Not that there really was one; they simply needed to inform them of what they wanted to do. A plan was formulated soon after speaking with him.
They would charm the exploding snap cards the Professor had provided them with to play themselves so it sounded like the two dark haired boys were playing. Remus would also quietly charm one of his books to turn the page at regular intervals as well as a quill to lift up and scribble random statements on a piece of parchment at different moments. Then they would leave one by one. First, James would slip out of the Great Hall. A moment later, Sirius would follow. Then Remus would come out last, and they'd head on their merry way down to Hagrid's cabin.
Setting the plan into action was easy, James and Sirius started what sounded like an intense game of Exploding Snap, falling silent long before Remus motioned them to start 'phase two'. This way, when McGonnagall looked at them wondering why they weren't making noise, she would be given the impression they were concentrating too much on winning to banter. This would also explain why the game would run for so long. Phase two, however, didn't go quite so well. Just as James was about to slip into the Entrance Hall the doors opened and he found himself looking right into a pair of twinkling blue eyes.
"Bugger..." Sighing, James did his best to smile innocently up at the Headmaster, "Hullo, Professor."
"Hello, Mr. Potter. Care to accompany to your friends to discuss your future?" Dumbledore smiled in light amusement, gesturing towards where Sirius and Remus were sitting a bit nervously. McGonnagall had looked up at this point as well and was frowning at him in annoyance.
"Yes, sir.." Sighing, James turned on his heel and led the way back over to the group.
There went any hope of adventure before the hammer came down on them. Remus and Sirius seemed to be thinking the same thing, because both were suddenly very focused on the few things that had come through the vortex with them. With yet another sigh, he spun one of the chairs at the table around and plopped down in it. Remus stood up and mimicked the action while Sirius just sat backwards on his own chair, arms crossed over the back. His wand was subtly flicked in the direction of the Exploding Snap cards, causing them to fall still.
"Do we have a verdict?" The Black heir asked lightly, as if they hadn't just been caught in the middle of sneaking out.
"Indeed we do." Dumbledore replied, nodding lightly, "The elder Remus Lupin has gone to see to it that you will have proper long term living arrangements throughout the summer. After which, if we have not discovered a way to return you to your time, I trust you will see fit to continue your schooling here."
"I don't know...Has much changed in the curriculum? It is over two decades into the future you know, there's bound to be updated school books on that stuff..." James tapped the side of his chair lightly, tilting his head back to look up at the star-speckled ceiling, "I mean, do we even have access to any funds in this world? Like, my family's account."
"I'm afraid not, my boy. The Potter vault has a owner here..." The Headmaster divulged lightly, before turning his gaze toward Sirius, eyes having lost their sparkle, "The Black vault, on the other hand, has been recently vacated over an owner. Normally, it would be passed down to the heir's predecessor. However, I think in this case an exception can be made..."
Sirius blinked, looking towards James before back to Dumbledore, "Wait a second. How can my family's vault be...I'm the heir, so that would mean that my older self would have to have--"
"Bloody hell. Padfoot, you're dead!" The messy haired boy turned to stare that Sirius in disbelief.
"I'm not dead, you dunderhead. Future...Me...Is dead. Bloody hell! I die young? Noooo!"
"Only in this universe, Padfoot..." Remus' voice broke through the panicked, excited talk, "That doesn't mean you are going to die."
"...Right. Well, still. I can't believe that I... He... Is dead." Frowning thoughtfully, the Black heir looked up at the Headmaster with a sense of curiosity, "How? Was he an Auror? James and I have always wanted to be Aurors. Was he protecting someone?"
Dumbledore smiled sadly, "He was protecting someone very dear to him, yes. And you'll be pleased to know that person is still alive for his efforts."
"Will you tell me anything more than that?" Sirius asked, not sounding very hopeful.
"Ah, curiosity. Alas, I'm afraid I may not be the right person to fill you in on these details. Fret not, though, I'm sure you'll find your answers soon enough." Raising his hands to prevent anymore attempts at questioning, he looked between the Marauders, "For now, I would like to show you to where you'll be staying until Remus finishes those arrangements."
"Wait, you mean we're not just going to bunk in the Tower?" James sat up straight, leaning forward in excitement, "Not staying in the dorms tonight?"
"Indeed not. In fact, I believe you will find this particular room very interesting." Eyes twinkling, Dumbledore motioned for them to follow him and led the way from the Great Hall.
They followed him up many flights of stairs, to the seventh floor. James and Sirius were beginning to think that maybe they were being played as victims of a prank and really would be staying in Gryffindor tower. At least, until the Headmaster stopped in front of a door that hung across from the Barnabas the Barmy and trolls tapestry. The three teens exchanged a frown; that door had never been present before. Was even Hogwarts different in this universe?
"No way." Sirius muttered under his breath, "Remember what happened the last time we went into a door that we had never seen before?"
"Yes. After all, we're living through the results thanks to you." Remus replied dryly before shaking his head, "I don't believe that's a good way to judge this, though. After all, Professor Dumbledore has obviously asked Hogwarts to provide us with temporary living quarters or something along those lines."
"Are you ever going to let that go? Hogwarts made the door for us! It had our Animagi on it!" Sirius snapped, crossing his arms in front of him stubbornly.
"Yes, along with a few others and if you recall it wasn't exactly a happy picture."
"Knock it off, you dunderheads." James yawned, following Dumbledore through the mysterious door with a curious air.
He stopped short just a few feet inside and looked around. Sirius and Remus exchanged a glance and entered as well, halting on either side of their friend, gobsmacked. As they took in the room around them, there was only one phrase they could think of to sum up their thoughts.
"Wicked..."