They approached the village and found an inn. Entering they approached the bar. Harry asked, "Do you have rooms for rent?"

"Sure, one knut per night." the man answered. The group was shocked at the low price but the barman misunderstood, "I'm just kidding its one knut per week."

"No wonder I can't rent any rooms you old coot." a woman said smacking the man on the head, "Your outlandish prices would scare anyone away."

"How much for the month." Harry asked.

"Now that would be one knut." the woman said.

"How many can you fit in one room?"

"I have two rooms that can fit three each." she responded

The group started searching pockets until Neville and Ron each found one.

Entering the room they found three small beds, each of the girls picked a bed and collapsed on it. Harry stepped in and reminded them to protect their room before he joined the other two boys in their room. After a short rest the group met in the pub and then stepped out into the evening air. They walked some distance from the village before they began to discuss their predicament.

"Hermione, do you have any idea how many years we are jumping?" Harry asked

"No facts." she responded, "But I think our first jump landed us around two thousand years in the past. The second jump moved us forward I would say at least three hundred years. This jump is one to two hundred years but I'm thinking closer to one hundred years."

"Do you think they'll continue to shorten the number of years?" Ron asked.

"We'll have to give it a few more jumps to see. But we should at least be able to get a reliable date in this time." Hermione answered.

"Let's find out the date as soon as possible." Harry said.

"Ok but try to be discrete about finding the year." Hermione said, "That may throw suspicion on us. We'll need to know when the Statute of Secrecy starts to affect us. We'll also need to know when the Ministry can start tracking us. I'm a bit worried about how much school we'll be missing. How will we ever catch up?"

"Don't worry so much." Ron said, "As soon as the school gets built we can start living there. It'll be easier to stay inconspicuous when that happens. And we can start our classes then."

"But as we get closer to our own time we'll have to stay hidden even at school." Hermione said.

"Don't worry about that right now." Harry stated, "We need to concentrate on what's happening now and try to figure that out. Once that's out of the way we can worry about how to act in the future. So far each stay has lasted thirty days. We need to keep careful count to make sure it's staying the same. It was about four in the afternoon when we left the train and I'd say about the same time for the other two jumps now that I think about it. What do you guys think?"

"I hadn't paid any attention but I think that's about right." Ron said while the others nodded their heads.

"I can't believe I didn't think to track that." Hermione admonished herself.

"Don't worry about it." Ginny consoled her friend, "We've all been a little rattled. We're just lucky Harry can keep his head in dangerous situations."

"I just wish I could keep it during normal situations too." Harry grinned.

The group chuckled and continued to walk and talk. They made it back to the inn by dinner time and entered thinking of food. The woman from before ushered them to a table and said as she backed away, "We have dinner coming in a few minutes. Tonight we're eating pork. We don't call this place Hogsmeade for nothing."

After she left Neville commented, "I never wondered why it was called Hogsmeade. I'm not sure I wanted to know why now."

The group laughed as the woman started bringing out plates. The first plates were set in front of Harry and Ginny. Then she served Ron and Neville and after them Hermione and Luna. To Ginny the order felt funny so before the woman could leave she asked, "Was there a reason you served us in that order?"

"Yes Miss, I don't want to make the most powerful witch and wizard in town mad." she replied, "Was the serving order ok?"

"Yes its fine but how do you know who's the most powerful?" Ginny asked.

"You two radiate power like no one I've ever seen. You folks must be from the city." she said.

"Why do you say that?" Hermione asked.

"Out here we don't get many powerful folk. I hear in the city they're all over. So we're sensitive to power levels, while city dwellers don't even understand how we know." the woman answered, "I'm Maude by the way."

"You're right we are from the city." Harry said after the group introduced themselves, "We didn't realize how we'd stand out. I wish I could learn how to detect levels like that."

"You spend a few years out here and you'll catch on." she grinned, "So what can I get you to drink?"

After an enjoyable meal the group lingered and continued to talk. Ron started to order another round of drinks but Harry stopped him, "We aren't used to this stuff and we can't afford to get drunk. Best to stick with water. It's starting to get crowded so why don't we go upstairs?"

In the girls room the group sat on the beds. The girls propped themselves at the head of the beds, while the boys sat at the foot. Ginny's bed was in the middle and after several minutes Harry was getting a headache from looking between Neville on one side to Ron on the other. So he flipped around. He was on his back with his head next to Ginny's legs.

"Better?" Ginny asked.

"Yes the tennis match was giving me a headache."

"The what?" Ron asked.

Hermione giggled, "He means that looking back and forth between you and Neville. Muggles have a game called tennis. A player stands at each end of a court and they hit a ball back and forth between them. The first to make the other person miss wins a point. When watching a game you do this." Hermione demonstrated.

"Sounds dead boring." Neville commented.

"It is." Harry agreed, "And it gives me a headache."

The conversation continued and Ginny unconsciously started running her fingers through Harry's hair. It wasn't long before he was asleep.

"I guess we should go to our own room." Ron said watching Harry sleeping.

"He's fine." Ginny smiled looking at Harry, "He never looks like he's slept enough at home."

"It's the nightmares." Neville said, "He wakes up with them three or four times a night. Sometimes he goes back to sleep, sometimes he gives up and goes to the common room or wanders the halls."

"It's a miracle Gryffindor has points at the end of each year." Hermione sighed, "If he got caught even a fourth of the time he's out we'd be last place every year."

"Really?" Ginny questioned, "He hasn't had any in the last two months that I'm aware of."

"It's you." Luna said, "He finds comfort when you're near. I wonder how he'll sleep tonight. It will be the first time in two months you'll be apart."

"Mum's gonna kill me when she find out." Ron put his hands over his face.

"Only if you tell her it happened." Hermione pointed out.

Ron shrugged and then yawned, "Time for bed?"

"Ok." came the unanimous reply.

Ginny touched Harry's face and whispered, "Get up and go to your own bed."

"Too comfortable." Harry mumbled.

"Go to your own bed or I'll bat bogey hex you." she giggled.

"Fine, I'm going." Harry sat up rubbing his face. Ron grabbed his arm and directed him towards their room.

The next morning before Harry woke up Neville and Ron compared notes, "Two nightmares?"

"Yes. Ginny is a miracle worker." Neville grinned.

"Maybe she just slept through them?" Ron asked.

"You just keep living that fantasy." Neville chuckled, "I think he fancies her."

"That wouldn't be too bad would it?" Ron asked, "I mean we're as close as brothers anyway."

"I think it's great. I just wonder how long it will take him to figure it out." Neville chuckled.

At breakfast Hermione asked, "What's today's date?"

"September fourth in the year of our Lord twelve hundred and three." She replied.

"Thanks." Hermione replied.

The next several weeks they spent exploring the town and the surrounding country side. They were even able to tour the site that Hogwarts would sit some three hundred years in the future. On the thirtieth day they left the inn shortly after noon and wandered up to the site of the school. AT three thirty they moved to the edge of the forest and sat to wait. Hermione kept a close eye on her watch and interrupted the conversation when they got close to four o'clock. At four minutes after they were surrounded with smoke. When it cleared they appeared to be on a construction site.

*8*8*8*8*

"Kingsley, I've found something." Tonks called from the floor of the compartment.

"Don't touch it." he called.

"I know that, I'm not a rookie any more. It's jammed in the corner under the seat back here." Tonks said as she stood. She pointed at the seat so that Kingsley could know where to look.

He got on the floor and saw the object, "Better call in Moody. It's still got a powerful aura coming off of it."

"Already done." she replied, "Dumbledore too?"

"What time is it?" he asked.

"Two in the morning."

"Let's wait."

Several tense minutes later they heard Moody board the train and approach them. He looked at it with his magical eye and said, "Dark magic. But it's very old. There's newer magic that suggests a portkey of sorts. Levitate it, don't touch. Let's take it to Dumbledore. "

"What have you found?" Albus asked when they reached his office.

"A dark object overlaid with a portkey of some kind." Moody growled, "They didn't have to touch it just be in the general area. We're lucky it didn't take more people."

"Where did it take them?" Albus asked.

"We can't tell." he replied.

They were interrupted by a knock on the door, "Come in Severus. What can you tell me?"

"Draco Malfoy was given a portkey that he was supposed to slip to Potter and it would take him to the Dark Lord. They know he's missing from school so Draco is safe from retribution because he did his part. Mulciber however is not healthy. He made the portkey." Severus said.

"Was this the object?" Albus asked indicating the object sitting on his desk

"I don't know but I'll find out." he replied.

*8*8*8*8*