The Golden Thread

Chapter 2: A Time Long Forgotten

Just as Lucie was beginning to think that the dreadful spinning would never cease, she felt herself land roughly on something hard and unyielding. Keeping her eyes shut tight, she put a hand to her head, which was pounding dully. It took a moment, but she was finally able to open her eyes and look around.

She was in the middle of a large expanse of overgrown grass and, with a jolt, realized that the curvature of the land looked familiar because she had just been there. She was in the middle of the gardens of the Selwyn estate, but there was nothing there. The dais, the wedding guests, the tables and chairs, her family, Scorpius, even Bellatrix—all were gone. Lucie looked over her shoulder and saw that where the manor should have stood, there was only empty space.

As the shock wore off, dread began to creep up Lucie's chest, and suddenly she wanted to cry. She hadn't cried since she was a little girl, because it wasn't a proper thing for a lady to do. Now, though, she had run away from her wedding, like a coward, like a criminal, just because a stranger in a hood had told her to. It had been so chaotic, and Bellatrix had her so frightened, that she did it without thinking.

Shifting a little in her lacy, uncomfortable wedding dress, Lucie noticed that she was still holding the rucksack. As she set it in front of her to examine, something fell out of the open front pocket. It was a note, only a few words in length, and it was addressed to her:

Lucie,

Take the ring out of this bag. It will take you where you need to go.

Brow furrowed, Lucie reached into the bag and felt around. Finally, her fingers landed on a small metal object, which she pulled out. It was made of plain, slightly worn silver, and appeared to be a man's wedding band. It was attached to a long chain, perhaps so that one may wear it around their neck.

As Lucie looked at the ring, it began to glow blue. Her eyes widened, and she realized it was a Portkey. She clutched it tighter out of sheer fright, though part of her wanted to throw the thing as far away as possible.

Just as Lucie grabbed onto the rucksack, she felt a peculiar sensation like being hooked around the navel. She'd traveled by Portkey a few times before, and had never particularly enjoyed it. The only method of magical transportation she didn't despise was Floo powder. Portkeys and Apparition were too jarring, and it wouldn't do for a lady of her standing to be seen riding around on a broom.

She was spinning again, and it was lucky her stomach was empty, or else Lucie feared she would have been sick all over her dress. Luckily, the Portkey deposited her soon after, and she was able to quell her nausea by taking a few deep breaths. With trembling hands, she placed the ring, which had stopped glowing, around her neck, figuring it would be best to keep it there for the time being. The cool metal fell to her chest, coming to rest right next to the other peculiar device there.

Lucie picked up the little object, bringing it close to her face. It was rather small, made of gold, and in the center of a ring of numbers was a tiny, delicate hourglass. Lucie had never seen such a thing, and couldn't make heads or tails of it.

With a sigh, she let the device fall back to her throat, and turned to look at her new surroundings. Her breath caught as she took in the imposing frame of her school, Hogwarts, looming over her. She had landed in a secluded corner of the grounds, behind some tall shrubbery. The castle looked the same, yet something felt inexplicably different about it, something that Lucie couldn't quite place.

Cautiously, she crawled over to the rucksack and opened the fastenings all the way, looking at the contents inside. With a small measure of relief, she found a few Galleons and Sickles, and some clothes—a skirt, grey stockings, a warm-looking blouse, and a pair of simple black shoes. At least she could change out of her restrictive dress.

Staying hidden behind the shrubbery, Lucie removed her wedding attire. Her wand, thankfully, was still stowed safely in an inner pocket of the dress, where she had put it that morning. She put on the new clothes and performed a simple shrinking spell on her dress, which she put into the rucksack. As she did so, her eyes landed on something else in the bag that she had not seen before.

It was a folded piece of parchment, closed with a seal that Lucie didn't recognize as belonging to any of the pureblood families she knew. Carefully, Lucie picked up the parchment. She didn't break out into boils or anything of the sort, so it didn't appear to be cursed. As slowly as she dared, she placed a finger on the seal.

Immediately, a small shock ran through her body, and she dropped the parchment with a yelp of surprise. She cast her eyes downward to glare at the offending object, and was surprised to see that large, carefully scrawled words had appeared on the front.

FOR THE EYES OF ALBUS DUMBLEDORE ONLY

Shock such as she had never felt began to spread through Lucie, starting at her erratically beating heart and steadily making its way to the tips of her fingers and toes. Even as the words faded, leaving the parchment blank once more, Lucie could not erase the sight of them from her mind's eye. That name—the name of the only man the Supreme Ruler had ever feared—had been outlawed in her time. Only professors teaching of the Dark Lord's great triumph over the man were allowed to utter it, and even then it was only to be used in great necessity.

So the parchment, and whatever message it contained, was for him. But that's impossible, thought Lucie. Dumbledore had been dead for a quarter of a century. He'd been killed years before Lucie was even born. So why, why, had the hooded stranger given her a note meant for him?

Before Lucie could think any more on the matter, the sound of voices penetrated her little haven behind the shrubbery. She quickly hid the golden device and the ring beneath her blouse and bent to pick up the fallen parchment, but was careful to keep her fingers away from the seal. Her hands began to shake as the voices drew closer and, fearing the worst, Lucie raised her wand, ready to conjure a shield if necessary.

As it turned out, no shield was needed. Two young boys, perhaps thirteen or fourteen years of age, came around the corner, their wands held aloft as well. When they caught sight of Lucie, they stopped dead and simply stared at her.

The first thing Lucie took notice of, besides their semi-threatening stances, was their attire. Both boys were wearing standard black Hogwarts robes, but they were different than the ones Lucie had always worn. The trim and the small badges near the chest were emblazoned with bits of yellow, whereas hers—and all of her classmates'—had always been green. Instead of the tiny embroidered snake on their chest patches, there was a badger. She'd never seen the boys before, which was odd, because so few children were allowed to attend Hogwarts that she knew them all quite well.

"Who are you?" one of them asked, and Lucie imagined that he was trying to sound intimidating, though his pubescent voice made it rather difficult. She opened her mouth to give him her name, hoping it would assert her station, but then hesitated as an idea occurred to her. She glanced at the parchment, hoping she wasn't making a dire mistake.

"I'm here to see Albus Dumbledore." As soon as the words fell from her lips, the boys instantly relaxed. They lowered their wands, laughing a bit nervously, and proceeded to look at Lucie expectantly. Reluctantly, she let her wand arm fall to her side, but kept a tight grip on the long piece of wood, just in case.

"Why didn't you just say so?" one of the boys asked. "You had us scared you were an intruder."

"This is the time that Professor Dumbledore usually goes to meet with Headmaster Dippet in his office," said the other boy. "We'll most likely find him there. I'm Marcus, by the way. Marcus Burbage." He offered his hand to Lucie, and she took it, shaking it lightly, though she was thoroughly surprised that a young boy would initiate physical contact with her.

"And I'm Jeremiah Cattermole," said the other, shaking hands with Lucie as well. "Just follow us, we'll take you to the Headmaster's office."

Realizing that she had few other options, Lucie nodded and shouldered her rucksack. As Marcus and Jeremiah led her towards the main entrance of the castle, Lucie thought it best not to appear as a threat, and stowed her wand in the waistband of her skirt, close enough that she could get it quickly if she needed to defend herself. Almost as if to make sure they were still there, Lucie reached up and touched the golden device and the ring through her blouse.

They entered the castle, and as Lucie followed Marcus and Jeremiah through the corridors, she marveled at the place. Hogwarts was not as she was accustomed to. In all her time at the place, she'd never seen the portraits look so vibrant, or their occupants so cheerful. She'd never seen so many students running about, their robes all emblazoned with yellow, blue, emerald, or scarlet. This Hogwarts was, in many ways, familiar to her, and yet it was vastly different. With every step she took, Lucie felt the fear and confusion that she had managed to suppress for a few moments grow stronger.

By the time they reached the stone gargoyle, Lucie was once more struggling to hold back tears. This strange Hogwarts seemed like such a happy place, and somehow it was only filling her with dread.

"Password?" asked one of the gargoyles, sounding bored.

"Acromantula," replied Marcus, sounding proud of himself. As the three of them began to ascend the winding stone staircase, he whispered to Jeremiah that his sister, Charity, had overheard the Head Girl saying the password, and told it to him. Lucie, for her part, was trying desperately to stay calm. She removed the golden device from her blouse and cradled the delicate object in her hand, careful not to let Marcus or Jeremiah see it. For all she knew, it could be a dangerous, illegal magical artifact.

In her other hand, she still held the folded parchment. She glanced down at it, as though hoping more words would appear on the surface and explain to her what in the name of Merlin was going on. Just as Lucie thought she would indeed burst into tears, the heavy wooden door swung open, revealing a harried-looking man. He was rather portly, with graying hair and a set of oddly crooked teeth. He was, perhaps, three hundred or so years of age. It wasn't terribly old by wizarding standards, but it wasn't exactly young, either.

"Hello, Headmaster," said Jeremiah. "Sorry to bother you, but we've brought a girl who says that she needs to speak with Professor Dumbledore."

"What? Oh, thank you, Mr. Cattermole. I'll take it from here." He shooed the boys away, rather abruptly, Lucie thought, and then turned his stern gaze on her. "Yes, well, Albus and I were just finishing up our daily visit, so you might as well come in." He ushered her into the office, and all the while Lucie was trying to keep her head from spinning.

Dippet—the name was familiar. If she remembered her History of Magic lessons correctly, a man named Armando Dippet had been the Headmaster of Hogwarts from the early twentieth century until 1956, at which time he had been replaced by Albus Dumbledore.

So why on earth was Dippet standing before her now?

With a sinking feeling in her stomach, Lucie looked around the office, her eyes landing on the only other occupant. It was another man, younger than Dippet, with long, auburn hair and a matching beard. Immediately, Lucie knew that this man was the famous Dumbledore, but his appearance only served to frighten her further. No doubt, if she tried to talk now, the only sound she would be able to produce would be a sob.

In her years at school, they had been shown pictures of Dumbledore's corpse, but the man before her was nothing like the wizened, broken body she had seen. He was very much alive, and his eyes were the bluest, most piercing eyes she had ever seen. They made her feel as though he was looking into her very soul, and could see all of her secrets.

Lucie was rapidly putting the pieces together in her mind, but before she could bring herself to realize the terrifying reality, Dippet spoke again.

"What is your name girl?" he demanded, quite harshly.

"I—I...My name is Lucie Selwyn, sir." Lucie inwardly cursed herself for stumbling over her words. A lady was always meant to be sure of herself.

"Selwyn, eh?" said Dippet gruffly. "An old pureblood name, if I'm not mistaken. As far as I am aware, for generations now the Selwyn family has chosen to teach their children at home. What, may I ask, are you doing at my school?"

"Armando," said another voice, just as Lucie opened her mouth. She looked to Dumbledore in surprise. She hadn't expected him to have such a gentle voice. "Clearly the girl is quite frightened, and she did come to see me. Would you mind terribly if we spoke alone?"

Dippet eventually did leave the office a few minutes later, albeit grudgingly, and muttering quite a bit under his breath. When Lucie found herself alone with Dumbledore, she felt her fear increasing to dangerous levels, and began to think she might faint. Wordlessly, and with a trembling hand, she held out the parchment to Dumbledore. Eyes twinkling, he took it.

Though Lucie held her breath in anticipation, nothing happened as Dumbledore put a finger to the seal. She watched as he broke it without any adverse effects, and then they both stood in agonizing silence for a few moments as he read over whatever was written on it.

Finally, when he had finished, Dumbledore crossed to the fire and tossed the parchment on. Lucie found herself wanting to stop him, but bit her tongue. Dumbledore was sure to tell her.

It seemed, though, that she was mistaken. Though she looked at Dumbledore expectantly, he simply gazed at her pleasantly, as though they'd known each other for years. At last, more to break the silence than anything, Lucie spoke.

"Excuse me, sir, but...what was in the note?"

His eyes regained that twinkle that made Lucie sure that he knew more than he was letting on. "I am sure that you will come to those answers in time, my dear. What I can tell you is that the writer of the message wishes for you to be a student here."

"At Hogwarts? But—but I am a student here, even though...this isn't the Hogwarts I know."

Something like sadness flashed through Dumbledore's eyes, but it disappeared as quickly as it had come. "No, I'm afraid it is not. Tell me, Miss Selwyn, do you know what is around your neck?"

Lucie glanced down at the golden device, which she had forgotten was no longer hidden in her blouse. She supplied no answer, so Dumbledore continued.

"It is called a Time-Turner."

Lucie's eyes widened, and though she did not know exactly the purpose of the device, the name alone was enough to give her strong suspicions. "Do you mean to say, sir...?" She trailed off uncertainly, not quite wanting to hear the answer.

"That you have traveled back in time? Yes, that seems to be the case." Dumbledore said this lightly, almost airily, as if discussing the weather over tea and crumpets, rather than the terrible crime Lucie had committed by running away from her wedding. His slight smile unnerved her, but she tried her best to ignore it.

"Back in time?" she managed to choke out. "I—I...sir, this is..."

"Quite shocking? Yes, indeed."

Lucie steeled herself, trying to keep the panic from her eyes. It wouldn't do for her to seem as though she were anything less than completely composed. Then, more steadily and with more conviction that she thought herself capable of in that moment, Lucie asked the one question that could shatter her world forever.

"How far, sir? How far have I traveled back in time? What year is it?"

At this, Dumbledore sobered a bit. "It is September the Second, 1943."

Lucie's breath caught, and she stared at Dumbledore incredulously for a moment before finally working up the nerve to speak again. "What exactly am I doing here, sir?"

"As I said before, Miss Selwyn, you will come to all of the answers you seek in good time. What is the saying? Ah, yes. All good things come to those who wait." Lucie wanted to tell him that she'd never heard such a saying before, but before she could respond, Dumbledore began to speak again. "Now, if you are to enter the—how old are you, exactly, my dear?"

"Sixteen today, sir."

"Ah, happy birthday, then. Now, as I was saying, if you are to enter the sixth year class, you'll need to be sorted into a House, and we will need to give you something to tell your peers about where you came from."

Lucie's brow knitted together in confusion. "I don't know what you mean by a 'House', sir. In my time, only purebloods are allowed into Hogwarts, and there are so few of us that the common room and dormitories in the dungeons are more than enough to accommodate all of us."

The little flash of sadness passed through Dumbledore's eyes again, but Lucie tried to tell herself that she was imagining it. "Yes, well, here we have four houses—Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. Each of the houses have different attributes by which the students are sorted into them."

"Like what, sir?"

"Well, Gryffindors are known for their bravery, Ravenclaws for their intelligence, Hufflepuffs for their loyalty and kindness, and Slytherins for their cunning and ambition. It is of course, a more complicated process, but that is the simple version. Now, as for your backstory—"

"Excuse me, sir, I'm terribly sorry to interrupt, but why is any of this necessary? Can't I just go home?"

"From what I understand through that note, Miss Selwyn, is that it would be very dangerous for you to return to your own time right now. Don't you agree?"

Lucie wanted to protest, but she knew that returning to the future would only result in her immediate arrest or death, so she nodded resignedly, allowing Dumbledore to resume speaking. A dull ache began to spread through her chest, and she thought of her family, who must be beside themselves with worry—or worse, they might have been punished by the Supreme Ruler for harbouring a supposed traitor. A fresh wave of tears threatening to overtake her, Lucie turned her concentration once more to what Dumbledore was saying.

"Now, Miss Selwyn, you'll have to keep your name, since you already told it to Headmaster Dippet. What shall we say about you? Ah, yes, your parents, fearing for your safety amidst the wars—there is, of course both a wizarding and Muggle war in this time—decided to stop teaching you at home and sent you to Hogwarts to finish out the remainder of your schooling. You have no siblings. Do you think you can remember all of that, Miss Selwyn?"

Lucie nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Very good. Also, I advise that you keep that Time-Turner of yours out of sight. You are quite lucky that the Headmaster didn't catch sight of it. They are very rare and heavily regulated magical artifacts. Take good care of it."

"It's strange, sir. They must no longer exist in my time. I've never even heard of a Time-Turner before."

"Strange, indeed. Now, down to business." Dumbledore had conjured a pair of standard black robes, which Lucie put on over her clothes. Before she realized what was happening, Dumbledore was whisking her down to the Great Hall. As they approached the large room, Lucie heard the sounds of hundreds of chattering people.

I've never heard the Great Hall be so noisy before.

Oddly, the thought sent a warm feeling fluttering in her chest. If she weren't still so confused and disoriented, it would have made her smile.

Dumbledore brought her into the Great Hall through the staff entrance, and suddenly Lucie found herself on a raised dais at the front of the Great Hall, the staff table behind her, and four long tables in front of her, each packed with students. It must be dinner time, she thought numbly.

When Lucie was fully in sight of the students, a hush fell over them. They all stared openly at her, whispering quietly to one another. Lucie felt the blood rush to her cheeks, but she forced herself, as her parents had always taught her, to stand tall, chin held high, and show no sign of any emotion.

Dumbledore, who had been whispering something to an elderly female professor, suddenly returned to Lucie's side. The old woman hurried into a room just off of the Great Hall, looking thoroughly surprised. Though it was only a few moments until she returned, it seemed like an eternity to Lucie. She couldn't think of anything more agonizing.

Finally, though, the woman re-entered the Great Hall, carrying an old, fraying wizards' hat. Lucie had no idea why Dumbledore sent the old woman to fetch such a wretched-looking thing, but held her tongue.

"Ah, thank you Galatea," said Dumbledore, taking the hat from the woman. He turned to the students, who fell immediately silent. "Students, it gives me great pleasure to welcome a new student here at Hogwarts. Miss Lucie Selwyn—" here he gestured to her "—who has, to this point, been homeschooled, will be joining the sixth year class once she has been sorted. I hope you will all bid her a warm welcome."

The students granted her a warm, if tentative applause, and Dumbledore turned to smile at Lucie. He held the hat out to her, and she realized that he meant for her to put it on her head. Slightly disgusted, Lucie took the old, careworn thing and placed it atop her golden hair. She nearly screamed when a voice sounded in her ear, before she realized with a great deal of shock that the hat was talking to her—inside of her head.

"Hmm...a curious case, you are. It seems that you have been taught to believe in one way of thinking since birth, though you have doubts about this. You are intelligent...but perhaps Ravenclaw isn't the best fit for you. You are loyal to your family, but you're not a Hufflepuff either... It seems there is only one logical choice, given the circumstances under which you have come here."

Lucie held her breath, wondering why she felt so nervous.

"SLYTHERIN!"