Chapter 1: An Unfortunate Lack of Grace
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June 25th, 1995: The Department of Mysteries
Albus Dumbledore wandered the Hall of Prophecy, his bright eyes carefully scanning shelves that were old as time itself. For the fourth time in less than a week, he was checking to make sure Sybil Trelawney's prophecy was where it was supposed to be. Tom had always been exceptionally talented at thievery, and Albus worried that the dark wizard would one day stroll into the Ministry of Magic and steal the glass ball without raising a single Order member's notice.
It was a ridiculous notion, but war turned even the greatest of men into fools, and so Albus wound his way around numerous shelves in search of the precious orb.
The aged wizard moved to turn a corner, but, in his carelessness, caught his foot on a shelf. Albus held his breath as thousands of prophecies teetered back and forth, but, to his relief, only one fell. Dumbledore scrambled to catch it, his fingers curling around the glass sphere moments before it hit the ground.
Albus chided himself for his clumsiness and moved to replace the ball, but stopped abruptly when he realized that it was speaking to him. He was quite certain that he had never made a prophecy, and no one had ever told him of one concerning himself… intrigued, he listened carefully.
"The days of darkness approach… waiting to be prompted by a threat unseen… he yearns to alter deeds long done… to slay the greatest of men and restore the purest of evil… he will not fail… his success will right what has always been wrong… but rules shall be broken and many shall suffer… and only he who can best destroy holds the strength to preserve peace… he who can best destroy… must preserve… peace…"
The voice trailed off, and Albus blinked at the prophecy several times.
That was not good.
Albus's normally even breathing faltered unsteadily. Though he was not quite the man that many believed him to be, he had a keen feeling that his role in the prophecy was not a happy one. It was immensely troubling to hear that a dark wizard would 'yearn… to slay the greatest of men', and that, 'he will not fail'.
"Perhaps I should tell Minerva," mused Albus.
Quickly, he shook off the idea.
There were bigger, more urgent things to worry about. If he survived the war, he would tell Minerva. If not, well, sometimes it was best to let prophecies fulfill themselves.
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October 6th, 2018: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
The fates had an extremely strong sense of irony, Madeline Connolly concluded as she slid down the last half of one of Hogwarts's many staircases, to have allowed her parents to give her a middle name as inapt as 'Grace'. Her bum thudded along the last three steps, and upon reaching the final one, the Gryffindor pitched onto the floor and slid another few feet before finally skidding to a stop.
Maddie sat there for a long moment, in the middle of a random corridor, her hands balled into fists, and her teeth clenched against letting loose a frustrated howl.
A snack! All she'd wanted was a simple sandwich, maybe a glass of milk, but the stupid castle insisted upon making things difficult. The staircase had shifted just as she was getting on: too late for her to jump off and find another way to the kitchens, but plenty early to throw her off balance and send her tumbling like a bowling ball.
With a low huff, Maddie climbed to her feet, dusted off her aching bum, and dug her wand out of her pocket to make sure the thing wasn't broken. Once she confirmed that the wand was indeed still in one piece, Maddie returned it to her pocket before attempting to place her current location.
Funnily enough, she couldn't recognize any of her surroundings. The Gryffindor knew the castle inanely well from dozens of evenings spent roaming the corridors, but it didn't seem as if she'd tumbled into any of her usual haunts. In fact, if she didn't know any better, Madeline would almost say that she'd been tossed into one of the dodgier corners of the dungeons. It was cold enough, anyway, and strangely dark. Besides, she had fallen downwards, so the dungeons were a relatively logical conclusion.
Figuring that Slytherin territory probably wasn't the safest place for a Mudblood Gryffindor to be hiding out in the middle of the night, Maddie began wandering forward. She had no idea where she was going, but sitting still most definitely wasn't an option. Besides, all she had to do was find a friendly looking portrait to lead her in the right direction, and she would be just peachy. Then she'd head back up to Gryffindor Tower, take a nice little nap, and be all chipper for classes the next day.
Or at least she hoped she'd be. Maddie bit her lip slightly, unable to completely ignore her terrible headache and slight fever. She should be able to make it through one more day of classes, but not if she didn't get to sleep soon. It was already hard enough, struggling through schoolwork during her 'time of the month.' She didn't need a sleepless night to make things worse.
"I'll be fine," Maddie whispered to herself. "'m really not even all that sick yet, and this is an interesting enough adventure, wandering the dungeons by myself. No matter that I'm probably not going to get my bloody snack, at least- OOMPH."
Something slammed headlong into Maddie, and the Gryffindor went stumbling backwards, landing hard on her already tender bottom. Before she could really comprehend what was going on, an invisible body fell on top of her. There was a loud shattering noise like breaking glass, a half-formed curse uttered in a voice that Maddie vaguely recognized, and then, before she could say or do anything else, the world froze for a long second before everything started spinning.
Images flew by in a barrage of colors, and despite her best efforts, Maddie couldn't move or talk or even scream, which she really, really wanted to do. Instead she was frozen in place, completely immobile and powerless to do anything except watch as hundreds of blurry faces flew by in front of her, kind of like a Muggle movie going super-fast in reverse.
Then, almost as soon as the show had begun, it was over. Everything slowed to a standstill, and when Maddie tried to move, the only thing stopping her was a strange weight on her stomach.
"No," the weight said. "Fuck no." It clambered off of her, and then a revealing spell was muttered, and a somewhat familiar Slytherin appeared out of nowhere. There was a long chain around her neck, with a broken hourglass dangling off of it. Frantically, the dark-haired Slytherin grabbed at the shattered doodad and lifted it closer to her face, looking at the thing every which way, her expression darkening more and more as she continued to examine it.
"Er," Maddie said articulately. They hadn't seemed to have moved, but the little broken hourglass the girl was holding looked an awful lot like a time turner, and the frantic gleam in the Slytherin's eye very much appeared to be panic, so Maddie was ready to bet a year's supply of Wolfsbane that the corridor she was standing in and the one she'd only just left were by no means identical. "That isn't… I really hope that isn't a time turner you've got there."
Apparently speaking was a bad move, because the girl whirled around in a tornado of silky brown hair and flowing robes. In a move so fluid that Maddie couldn't help but be just a wee bit envious, the Slytherin had her pinned back against a wall, wand to her throat, and furious eyes burning only inches away from her own.
"You filthy, stupid little half-breed creep! Do you have any idea what you've done!" she shrieked.
That's when Maddie recognized her. Azaria Warrington. She was a sixth year, and if Maddie remembered right, the daughter of the Head of the Department of Mysteries- a man who was speculated to have pumped ridiculous amounts of money into Voldemort's cause without ever getting directly involved. If she was stuck back in who knows what year, well... Azaria Warrington probably wasn't the first person she would've chosen to accompany her.
"Not exactly," said Maddie slowly, "but maybe if you'd care to enlighten me..." Azaria grit her teeth and reared her wand back threateningly. Maddie held her breath, sure that the other girl was going to hit her with a nasty hex, but then, thank Merlin, footsteps echoed across the smooth stone floor.
Azaria quickly stepped away from Maddie and shoved the broken time turner beneath her robes and out of sight. Just as the hourglass was hidden, a tall, daunting figure turned the corner and came to a stop in front of the two girls. Maddie stiffened at the sight of another Slytherin. The boy was huge- over six feet tall, easily- and something about his posture made him seem even bigger. He was handsome as well, with gorgeous cheekbones, thick brown hair, and piercing eyes the color of midnight. A badge that read 'Head Boy' rested neatly on his chest.
Maddie cursed under her breath. Excess Slytherins always tended to be dreadful things, and this guy looked to be the type who'd be perfect friends with Azaria; both were unmistakably good-looking, and as the boy was a Slytherin, Maddie figured he'd also be exceptionally cruel. She wrapped her fingers tightly around her wand, planning to draw it the second she needed the thing, but then, to her absolute shock, the boy looked at the both of them in concerned confusion, without a trace of malice on his face.
"I thought I heard something down here," he said slowly. "Are you two… okay?" His eyes lingered on Maddie when he asked the question, and she bristled defensively. Generally, wizards didn't have scars; they could all be spelled away, so it was natural to assume that the thin cuts scattered across her face and neck were recent injuries.
"We're fine," Azaria said before Maddie had a chance to speak. "It's just…"
"Are those Slytherin robes?" the boy cut in. He frowned, then looked at Maddie and said, "And Gryffindor? I'm afraid I don't recognize either of you. What's going on?"
Azaria exhaled sharply and looked back and forth between Maddie and herself for a long second. Then, forcing a smile and looking at Maddie with something like sisterly fondness, she sweetly said, "We do apologize... It's… we've only just finished meeting with Uncle Albus. See, we're to go to school here now, and we've already been sorted and everything, but… Maddie, my... dear older sister, was trying to help me find my common room, and we kind of got… well, lost, quite frankly."
Maddie had absolutely no idea what was going on, but she figured this was a pretty important ruse if Azaria was pretending to be related to a Mudblood werewolf, of all things.
"Uncle Albus?" the Head Boy asked. He frowned and looked between the two of them suspiciously. "You are Albus Dumbledore's nieces?"
Albus Dumbledore? As in thee Albus Dumbledore?
Maddie blanched. How far back were they? And why did it seem as though Azaria knew exactly what to say? She hadn't been planning to skedaddle all the way back to who knows when… had she?
"Obviously," said Azaria dryly. "Now, if you would please show me where I can find the Slytherin common room, I would be much obliged-"
"I'm afraid I can't do that," said the Slytherin boy. He was staring straight at Azaria, frowning just slightly. "With the threat of Grindelwald hanging over us so strongly, it would be irresponsible of me not to confirm your identities. Allowing just anyone into the common rooms would be dangerous, as I'm sure you understand."
"Fine. But if you insist upon disturbing someone, it best be our uncle," said Azaria. "He's already awake, and I doubt the headmaster would appreciate being roused in the middle of the night for something so useless as this."
The Head Boy looked as though he wished to argue, but after a moment he inclined his head and said, "Very well then. If you would follow me, ladies."
They began heading off in some random direction- Maddie was so turned around that she had no idea where in the hell they were at- and the Head Boy very politely said, "I'm Tom Riddle, Hogwarts's Head Boy. What are your names?"
Maddie choked on her next breath, tried to inhale, and wound up choking again. Azaria elbowed her sharply in the side, and Maddie quickly jumped to apologize. "Sorry, Tom. I just swallowed a rather large dust particle and it kind of got stuck in my throat. I'm Madeline, by the way, but everybody calls me Maddie. It's a… it's really a pleasure to meet you."
Tom- the future Lord Voldemort- smiled at her warmly- although it looked like his face seemed about ready to twitch from the effort- and said, "The pleasure is all mine, Madeline." Madeline? The bastard really is evil. His eyes went back to Azaria, and he politely inquired, "And your name?"
"Azaria," she said. "Azaria Dumbledore. And I do apologize for my sister's odd behavior. Our father is a goat farmer, and she turned out rather simplistic because of it."
Maddie growled. She couldn't help it. It was dangerously close to her time of the month, she felt like absolute crap, and she was seventy years back in time, strolling with a future dark lord and an evil Slytherin bitch. If the tenuous grasp she had on her control happened to slip just a tiny bit, well… said evil bitch best be thankful it hadn't slipped a few degrees further.
"Madeline!" Azaria hissed.
Maddie shrugged unapologetically.
"Dust particle… still stuck in my throat," she said dryly. "It's a nasty little bugger." Azaria looked mortified- she probably had a crush on Mister Doom and Gloom or something- and Maddie decided to take pity on her and said to Tom, "I do apologize. Dear Azaria has worked extremely hard to people-train me, but I haven't quite gotten the hang of it yet. You know, with me being simplistic and all."
A small smirk stretched across the Head Boy's face, and his eyes shone with amusement. Not genuine amusement, of course, but rather the extremely misplaced kind that adults sometimes get when little kids start spouting dirty words.
"I've always found a biting wit to be one of the more endearing qualities found in Slytherins," Tom said. "How did someone who displays the trait so charmingly find herself in Gryffindor?"
"I'm afraid a 'biting wit' is my only Slytherin trait, and I'm half-convinced you've only imagined I possess that," said Maddie. "The Hat put me in Gryffindor the instant it touched my head. I really don't think I belong anywhere else."
"Interesting."
"Why?"
Tom looked at her strangely.
"Pardon?"
"I mean," said Maddie, who really wished that she was able to fit her foot in her mouth, "that I don't see why me being in Gryffindor would be all that interesting. My uncle was in Gryffindor, and… I don't think I've done anything that marks me as ill-suited for the house. I just don't see why you would say 'interesting', because it's really not." She thought of something and plowed forward. "Unless you really don't care and you just said it was interesting because you didn't want to say that you don't give a hoot, in which case I'd much rather you have just said that it isn't interesting at all and lead the conversation in a direction you would find more suitable."
Tom pursed his lips. "After that very Gryffindor response, I retract my last comment. I no longer find the Hat's decision interesting in the least. Now, as much as I regret having to bring this very-" He looked straight at Maddie and went on, "-interesting conversation to a close, we have arrived at Professor Dumbledore's private quarters."
"Right then," said Maddie. She looked at Azaria, mentally thinking something along the lines of, Now that we're here, how in Merlin's name are we going to explain things to Lord Voldemort when Dumbledore doesn't have a clue as to who we are?
Azaria, ever the friendly lass, glowered coldly and looked away.
Figuring that it was better now than never, Maddie reached out, pounded on the door, and cried, "Uncle Albus! Tom thinks we're Grindelwald's spies!"
"I never implied such a thing," said Tom politely. "I am merely taking a very necessary precaution."
"She's always been overdramatic," Azaria muttered.
With that, the door opened to reveal a tall, bearded wizard with long auburn hair and sparkling blue eyes. Although he was younger than the picture hanging in McGonagall's office, Maddie still easily recognized Albus Dumbledore as the kindly portrait who always offered her lemon-drops whenever she visited the headmistress for her Wolfsbane potion.
"Hello, Uncle Albus," Azaria said lightly. Smilingly, she went on, "I'm afraid Maddie and I got lost trying to find our common rooms, and your Head Boy stumbled across us, so… here we are."
If Dumbledore was surprised by any of this, he didn't show it at all.
"I do apologize, Professor, as it now seems that my suspicions were unfounded, but you must understand my distrust of the situation."
"Of course, Tom. It is quite odd for two students to arrive out of nowhere one month into the school year, but my dear nieces came here under very unique circumstances, I must assure you. Now, I do thank you for your prudence in coming to me, but I believe I can take things from here."
"I will escort Miss Azaria to her common room if you wish," Tom said charmingly.
"No, that is quite alright. I was only just going to call the girls back to my office when you showed up; there are certain important matters I forgot to discuss with them earlier, and I'm afraid I must do so now, despite the late hour." He peered at Tom with some suspicion in his eyes, but then gestured nonchalantly down the hall and said, "You may leave us now, but… ten points to Slytherin for your aid. I will see you tomorrow, Tom."
He inclined his head politely and said, "Thank you, Professor."
Then the future Lord Voldemort ambled out of sight, disappearing down the dark corridor.
As soon as he was gone, Dumbledore looked down at the girls for a very long time before he said, "Now, I do believe the two of you have no small amount of explaining to do."
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A/N-
Alright then, that's the first chapter. I already have a general idea of what's going to happen, but this is all I have written so far. I think I'm going to wait and see what people think of the story before I write much more, so your feedback is super important as to whether or not I continue this. Please tell me what you think!
~bballgirl32~