Summary: People lost in the War are reincarnated into the latest generation of Hogwarts, then sent timetravelling back to when they were all alive.

Sorting

"Now, I know many of you would wish to begin eating immediately, but there is one final announcement to make before you all dig in," Dumbledore said, eyes twinkling when more than one person groaned. He waited until the slight chattering had ended before he went on. "This summer, some unexpected visitors appeared in this very Hall. Eight children appeared during a 'staff meeting', claiming to be from the future, and questioning of one under a truth serum revealed that they are not lying."

A dull roar quickly followed these words as everyone instantly started gossipping, although they quieted when Dumbledore raised both his hands for silence. The Headmaster continued soon, his tone slightly more stern than usual:

"These children are going to join our school until we can find a way to return them to their true time, but before they enter, I must give you all fair warning. You are not to ask any of them about the future, nor are you to insult any possibilities that may or may not happen; Their herritage must not be questioned, either. If myself or any other teacher or your Head Boy or Girl find out that these rules have been broken against the wishes of these students, be forewarned that the consequences will be most dire."

Silence echoed for a long moment before Dumbledore's smile returned and he clapped his hands together once. "Well, now that this is settled," he said cheerfully, "it is time to lead them in so they may be Sorted for the year! Professor McGonagall, if you would..."

Stiffly, McGonagall nodded before making her way to the front doors of the Hall and opening them slowly. Almost instantly, eight children of various appearances walked in.

"Geez, took long enough!" a tall boy with shaggy black hair, thin framed wire glasses, and a tanned complexion complained loudly to the still Hall at large. "I swear, I thought I was going to grow a beard to rival Professor Dumbledore's if we were out there any longer!"

A smattering of snickers broke the silence, but most people were too busy staring at the newcomers. The boy grinned and winked at the Hall before a girl with bushy red hair and another with noticably straighter red hair pulled back into a ponytail and shining brown eyes nudged him from either side.

Nothing else was said as the group, bunched together instead of walking in a straight line like the First Years had, made their way to stand in front of the Sorting Hat. McGonagall pulled out a different scroll from the pocket of her robes, paused, and then began the new Sorting.

"Seventh Year student, Lupin, Ted," she said loudly and clearly. More than one person gasped and mutters began as Ted stepped forward, straight-backed and proud, but not arrogant as he perched himself on the stool. The Sorting Hat was placed on his head and it seemed to hum aloud while going through his thoughts. Thirty seconds later-

"Ravenclaw!" shouted the Hat. There was a polite smattering of applause from the Ravenclaw table from those who weren't too preoccupied with their shock as all eyes followed him to said table, where he sat down at the very end closest to the doors and then proceeded to pretend not to notice anyone else was there.

McGonagall cleared her throat and all eyes instantly turned back to her as she paused to wait for everyone's returned attention. "Fourth Year student, Malfoy, Scorpius."

There was a strange sound from the Slytherin table and the few people who turned to look saw Draco Malfoy sitting ramrod-straight towards the middle, his already pale face paler than usual and his mask crumbling to reveal his wide-eyed shock. Scorpius pointedly ignored his presumed parent's reaction and sauntered up to the stool like he owned the place, sitting with a flourish as the Sorting Hat was placed on his head. It took slightly longer than it had with Ted, but before a minute was up-

"Slytherin!" the Hat exclaimed, sounding almost bored. The Slytherins didn't even applaud, although Ted did clap a few times from the Ravenclaw table and smiled innocently when Scorpius sent him a faintly amused look. Like Ted, Scorpius made his way to the end of his table closest to the door, looking rather bored.

This time, McGonagall didn't even need to clear her throat as almost all eyes turned to her, waiting anxiously for the next name. Without missing a beat, she called, "Fourth Year student, Potter, Albus."

Gasps and mutters started up, but Albus merely rolled his eyes in an unimpressed way before walking to the front.

"It's Al, actually," he corrected lightly, then sat down, the Hat immediately being placed on his head. Not even fifteen seconds later-

"Slytherin!" the Hat cried.

Silence. Dead silence replaced the mutters and gasps. Only the newcomers seemed to ignore it, Ted smiling at Al and Scorpius clapping with slow politeness as Al made his way over and placed himself right next to Scorpius. The two exchanged meaningful looks before returning their attention to the front of the room, ignoring the stares.

It took McGonagall a while to get over her own shock, jumping slightly when Dumbledore cleared his throat at the Staff Table before hurriedly returning her sight to the scroll before her. Her voice shook only slightly when she said, "Fifth Year student, Potter, James."

There was still silence as James swaggered to the front of the room, winking at a few older Hufflepuffs along the way before he cheerfully plopped down on the seat and the Hat fell on his head. Just under half a minute passed before the Sorting Hat cried, "Gryffindor!"

There was a smattering of applause from the Gryffindor table and a whoop from the ever-unaffected Weasley twins, causing James to bow lowly and dramatically before prancing over to the end of the table, just as the others had done.

"Third Year student," McGonagall went on, having regained some of her compsure, "Potter, Lily."

With a slight smile, Lily walked to the front of the room, perching daintily on the chair as the Hat was placed on her head.

Thirty second passed.

Then sixty.

Then ninety.

And then, finally, at the two-minute mark to the second, the Hat shouted, "Slytherin!"

James grinned and clapped from the Gryffindor table, Ted doing the same from the Ravenclaw section as Lily politely handed back the Hat to McGonagall before skipping her way to the end of the Slytherin table, easily slipping into the slight gap on the bench between Al and Scorpius. Al smiled at her and Scorpius inclined his head politely, causing Lily's eyes to glint mischieviously.

Again, it took Dumbledore clearing his throat to get McGonagall to return her attention to the scroll. "Third Year student," McGonagall said, her voice slightly softer than usual, "Weasley, Fredrick."

"Actually, I go by Hugo, my middle name," Fredrick/Hugo cheerfully corrected, sitting on the stool and swinging his legs back and forth childishly. "Avoids confusion at home, you know?"

McGonagall didn't answer, instead putting the hat on Hugo's head. Not too long after, the Hat announced, "Gryffindor!"

Hugo yanked the Hat off and practically ran to sit next to James, grinning cheekily at the boy, who grinned just as cheekily back as the two exchanged high fives. Far away, back at Grimwald Place, both Sirius and Remus shivered; there was a disturbance in the Prankster Force...

McGonagall shivered, too (although it was hard to tell under her robes), as she also felt the disturbance before she plowed forward with, "Fourth Year student, Weasley, Rosaline."

Without a fuss, Rosaline walked calmly to the front and sat on the stool. A minute passed, then, "Ravenclaw!" and Rosaline was sitting next to Ted in record time. Finally, McGonagall turned her attention to the last name on the list.

"Seventh Year student, Weasley, Victoire."

"Act'chu'ly, eet iz, 'ow you zay, 'Vick-ee'," Victoire said, laying on a heavy French accent. She paused then before chuckling with a grin and adding in a Brittish accent, "Seriously, though, it's Vicky."

And with that, Vicky plopped down and waited until the Sorting Hat was placed on her head. Not too long after, the Sorting Hat shouted, "Hufflepuff!" and fell silent for the last time. Just like the others, once she was free of the hat, Vicky took a seat at the end of her House table, but unlike the others, she was close enough that she could start a conversation if she wanted.

A few moments of silence passed before Dumbledore stood up and clapped his hands together again, eyes twinkling madly. "Well, that was a truly unexpected Sorting," he announced, glancing pointedly at the Slytherin table, where Lily and Al gazed back at him with innocent-looking expressions. "However, now is not the time to talk about it. For now, I only have to say 'tuck in'. Tuck in!"

Promptly, the food appeared, and the Hall roared to life. Conversations started and people chattered excitedly with their friends. At Ravenclaw table, Ted and Rosaline were talking softly to each other; at the Gryffindor table, James and Hugo were loudly retelling a story to "each other" about when they had tripped Mrs. Norris IV (the current Mrs. Norris, Mrs. Norris III, had apparently passed on a few years earlier) on their way back from a prank. At the Slytherin table, there was silence from the newcomers, who pointedly ignored the others from their table just as they were being ignored, while at the Hufflepuff table, Vicky was happily conversing about France with a few Fifth and Sixth and Seventh Year boys who were hanging on her every word.

Various people watched these things taking place in various ways. Draco Malfoy kept not-so-discretely sneaking glances at his apparent son, who was ignoring the actions, while the Weasleys were discussing who could have sired the various children with their name. Hermione Granger and Ronald "Ron" Weasley were puzzling out whether any of the children were Ron's (purely for Ron's benefit, of course).

And then there was Harry Potter. The famous Boy-Who-Lived had a rather Slytherin-like gleam in his eye as he looked at the various children who held his last name, his gaze hanging on each for extended periods of time without his notice. He seemed rather suspicious whenever he glanced at the Slytherin table, but always shrugged it off in favor of observing who he assumed to be his children.

And up at the Head Table, Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. This was going to be an interesting year, indeed.

BATTLE - REVEAL

The curse flew towards Lily, still frozen by a curse no one recognized, bright eyes wide in shock and horror, and then-

"No! Lily!" shouted Al with none too little anguish, lunging forward with his brilliant green eyes flashing dangerously. The shadows made them appear darker, almost black; his skin seemed sallow in the lightning flashes; his hair was long and plastered down by the rain, clinging to his face; his pitch black robes were sent billowing behind him in the wind...

"Secumseptra!" Al cast loudly and hatefully, slashing his wand dangerously. The spell cut through the one thrown at Lily, then through Bellatrix's own flesh, closely followed by-to nearly everyone watching's horror- "Crucio!"

Bellatrix's voice rose to a screech of pain and she crumpled to the ground, jerking and writhing in agony such as she hadn't felt at the hands of any other but the Dark Lord. Al watched with cold eyes as she clawed at her skin, her face, her eyes bulging out grotesquely and becoming stained with blood. However, after just a few moments, someone suddenly shouted a spell that caused Al's body to seize up.

Unluckily for whoever cast said spell, even this didn't break through Al's concentration and undisguised hatred for Bellatrix, who continued to be under the Unforgivable. It was only when a large mass blocked Al's vision that she finally had some form of mercy, however undeserved it was, causing Al to shift his furious eyes up to meet none other than Dumbledore's shocked, hurt, and somehow still soft ones.

"Albus," the Headmaster muttered, purposefully using Al's full name as his eyes twinkled with magic. In a flash, Al realized his mistake in meeting Dumbledore's gaze and snarled mentally at the man, trying hastily to hide the horrible flashback he had been having, but the damage was done. Dumbledore saw-

"Lily!" pain, anguish, she'sgoneshe'sgoneshe'sreallyGONE-dammit,dammit,al lmyfaulthowcouldthishavehappened? a flash, an image of the lifeless body of Lily Evans, sprawled out on a wooden floor cold floor dead becauseofmeIdiditwhyamIsuchaFOOL!theboythechildheh astobesafepleaseallthat'sleftofmyLilymustbesafe and sure enough he was-

-before Al's mental shield slammed upwards and he somehow broke the spell on him (at least around his face) enough to snarl angrily, head thrashing slightly to the sides.

"Stay out of my head!" he shouted with more venom than many from the future had ever heard from him, voice dripping with threats and more than a little sorrow. However, Dumbledore had no reaction to these words, his blue eyes slightly wider than normal and distant with his thoughts.

"Albus?" McGonagall asked worriedly as she came forward, completely ignoring Al as the student tried and failed to compose himself. Dumbledore just continued to stare at Al in disbelief before he shook his head before his gaze hardened and he stepped forward, his eyes never leaving Al's own.

"Why do you have that memory?" the Headmaster asked in a sharp voice few had ever heard from him before, and none had heard in the direction of a student. Al just stared at Dumbledore, eyes still smouldering, but he wouldn't have had much of a chance to respond anyway as the most powerful wizard in that time went on. "I know for a fact the one it belongs to would never share it with anyone no matter what the circumstances, so how is it that you have it?"

Al's eyes narrowed, but he stubbornly refused to respond, waiting somewhat impatiently for Dumbledore to put the pieces together. As soon as he did, Dumbledore's anger sizzled out, leaving behind obvious pity that caused Al to look away. The spell holding Al up suddenly dissolved, allowing the boy to stumble slightly and fall to one knee before he suddenly jumped to his feet again and whirled around, unmindful of those watching him.

"Lily?" he muttered, a note of faint panic in his voice as she stared at the ground, not seeming to focus on anything in particular. He dropped to his knees next to her and grabbed her shoulders with white-knuckled hands. "Lily!?"

"I'm f-fine," she finally managed to stammer, looking up at Al and giving a strained smile. After a heart-pounding second, Al's shoulders slumped and his face relaxed, the slightest of smiles on his lips as well.

"Good," he muttered, pulling her into a hug with his chin resting on her shoulder and her face burried in his chest. "I'm...not sure what would happen if I lost you again."

Lily gave a strangled laugh, wrapping her arms around Al in return and gripping his robes tightly in her fists. "To be honest? I'm...not sure either..."

The two kneeled/sat like that for what felt to them like eternity before James' voice broke in, uttering Lily's name in a way that was just as broken as Al had sounded earlier. The change was so startling that many of the people watching wondered if this sorrowful boy was even close to the same one they had seen in the school, those normally-lively hazel eyes shining with close-to-existing tears and his face as pale as Al's, drawn into a mixed expression of worry and relief.

Al and James locked eyes for a moment before Al nodded just slightly, seeming to give James some unspoken cue to drop to his knees behind Lily and pull her from Al's hug into his own. Lily choked, her red-splotched and rain(tear?)-stained face pulling into a look of shock before she let out a slight wail, whirling around and grabbing James in a deathly-tight hug.

"Shhh," whispered James, gently rocking her back and forth as Al watched without any visible expression. "It's okay, Lils. It's alright. I'm here..." He glanced up at Al for a moment. "We're here...it's alright..."

Lily nodded rapidly even as she continued to sob into James' shoulder, seeming unable to let go.

"Is everyone all right?" Ted asked worriedly as he, Vicky, and Hugo managed to squeeze their way through the spectators. He took in Lily's sobbing form, then James' comforting words and rocking, Al's all-too-obvious (to him, at least) pain, Bellatrix's frozen and pain-filled form, and finally everyone else's staring before coming to an educated conclusion, his face paling more than normal. Of its own record, unnoticed by him but starkly noticed by the spectators, his hair turned from brown speckled with gray to a light gray that was nearly white with worry.

"We are physically fine," said Al quietly, slowly getting to his feet. He turned and gave Ted a pointed look. "However, as you can clearly see, the Headmaster..."

The words died off, but Ted and the others didn't need to hear any more to figure out what had happened, causing Ted and Vicky to suck in a breath and Hugo to grimance.

"Shit," was the conclusion from the youngest Weasley. The unspoken agreement was hanging in the air from all of the future children, but it was only when a severely dishieveled Rosaline and a very pissed-off Scorpius joined the group that something else happened.

"Fucking Death Eaters," the Malfoy snarled, spitting at the ground in disgust. "Bloody hell near killed us, damn them, when they looked up Rosaline's bloody ancestry with that shitty spell of theirs. Why the fuck did Father ever associate with them, again? Fucking-"

A noise of frustration from deep within Scorpius' throat cut his own words off, but he visibly calmed when Rosaline gently placed her hand on his arm and gazed up at him with soft brown eyes. "Scorpius, please," she said quietly. Almost instantly, Scorpius breathed in deeply and finally regained his composure enough to sweep gray eyes across the scene. His expression again darkened as he turned to Al.

"Prince?"

"Bellatrix," was the simple reply, to which Scorpius snarled wordlessly and instantly turned his attention to the woman. He yanked out his wand and pointed it at her, preparing to cast some horrible curse (as those who knew him had no doubt he would do), but again Rosaline's hand on his arm stopped him.

"She's already been punished," Al added when he was sure Scorpius was stopped, at least temporarily. Scorpius scrutinized the Death Eater woman's form for a moment before turning to his friend.

"Secumseptra and Crucio?" Scorpius asked in the voice of a cool business man. Al inclined his head, causing Scorpius to, again, inspect Bellatrix's form with renewed interest. A cold smile crossed his face when he saw the wound on Bellatrix's arm, cutting out a large, triangular slice of skin so deeply that the bone was clearly visible, although stained with blood. "At least there is some semblance of justice in the world. Nice work, Prince."

Al let out a low sound of partial agreement and partial annoyance before turning his attention to Lily and James again, the younger of the two having recovered enough to get to her feet. Only the occasional sniffle and wipe at her eyes signaled that she was still upset.

"Lily? Are you all right?" asked Vicky quietly, watching with concerned eyes and prepared to jump to her cousin's side if the answer to her question wasn't satisfactary. The young redhead hesitated only a moment before nodding.

"I'm f-fine," she muttered, glancing at Al pointedly before turning her gaze to her feet. "I just...well, it's just...PTSD..."

Vicky nodded in somber understanding as she silently linked her hand with Ted's, recieving a squeeze of reassurance for her efforts.

"If this moment of sentimality is over," Snape suddenly said, standing to the somber Dumbledore's left with a narrow-eyed glare, "there is the problem of her," his head jerked in the direction of the still whimpering Bellatrix, "and the use of an Unforgivable on Hogwarts' grounds."

The seething glare sent to Al was returned with a dark stare, the thoughts of both Slytherins carefully hidden behind Occlumency shields metaphorical miles thick. They were only broken apart when, surprisingly, Hugo snorted at the thought.

"You act as though that's never happened before, past or future," he said loudly, ignoring the slightly pitying glances from Ted, Rosaline, and Vicky, let alone the flinches from the Potters and Scorpius' obvious self-loathing. Instead, Hugo gazed unwaveringly at Snape, his blue eyes bright with defiance. "This is a war, Professor. Anything and everything is acceptable as long as we get out alive."

"Agreed," chorused Scorpius, James, and surprisingly Vicky and Rosaline. The others merely nodded their stony agreement. In response to the battle-hardened looks in the childrens' eyes, McGonagall put a hand to her lips and Snape had the decency to look slightly abashed. Only Dumbledore looked calculating, his eyes sharp as they seemed to pierce through each of the children before coming to a conclusion.

"All of you, then, and not merely Mr. Al Potter," he said quietly. There were a few amusing reactions; Hugo's dark attitude had suddenly disappeared and he made a yelping sound, jumping a few feet in the air; Vicky seemed to be choking on her own spit; Ted's hair had gone from gray-silver-white to pitch black to sharply contrast his dangerously narrowed bright gold eyes; Lily made a noise that was a cross between a screech, a gasp, and a whimper. The others, on the other hand, either sighed or gave Dumbledore a look that highly suggested he not elaborate.

-END-

MKL's Post-Production Notes (8-14-13): So yes, reincarnation. That's a thing. It's always been an idea in my head...and I'd imagine it's happened before in the Wizarding World, which is why Dumbledore recognizes it for what it is eventually.

SPOILERS: So, for those of you who haven't figured it out (and for at least one I'm sure you wouldn't have without more clues), the reincarnated are...Albus Severus=Snape; James Sirius=James or Sirius-that was a running joke, that he's been keeping everyone guessing and the only person who knows would be Lily, who of course could tell her own husband from his best friend (for you viewers at home it would have actually been James); Lily Luna=Lily, which makes the whole James=James thing awkward for obvious reasons); Scorpius Hyperion=Lucius, who in my headcanon died shortly after the Battle of Hogwarts which is why I feel it was okay to have him in there; Ted Remus=Remus; Fredrick Hugo=Fred; Rosaline Minerva=McGonagall, who died of injuries from the Battle of Hogwarts; and Victoire Nymphadora=Tonks.

Oddly, for some reason, I had Scorp-Rose/LM-MM as a pairing in my notes. Huh, wonder where that came from. Also obviously we had Ted-Victoire/RL-NT, but that's about it. There was really nothing else to it. I just really liked the idea of Snape getting a second chance and it took off from there...