Aaaaand another chapter. I'm scared you guys are going to start expecting regular updates, which will probably end soon as school starts again next week and I have a job. But I will try my hardest!
Chapter Eleven:
Potter Paradox
"Leila, wake up," Hermione gently shook the sleeping girl out of oblivion, and into the morning as Leila sat up and rubbed her eyes.
"Mmm….it'searly," she slurred and gave a huge yawn, arms stretching above her head.
"I know that," Hermione said with some amusement. As it was the holidays, Hermione had had plenty of time to catch up with all her homework and no longer looked constantly haggard. "But I figured we should open our presents now so we can join the boys in their dorm. They're probably not up yet."
"No kidding," Leila muttered, searching for a clock, but then decided she didn't want to know how early it was, and changed her focus to the little pile of presents at the foot of her bed. A book from Hermione, which she thanked her for; rock cakes from Hagrid; photos of her parents from Professor Lupin; a sweater and sweets from Mrs. Weasley, always welcome; a warm scarf from Ginny; the goggles she had worn during the Quidditch match from Harry as a sort of memento; a Fanged Frisbee from the twins, sent 'with their love' according to the card; and Chocolate Frogs- her favorite candy- from Ron. That left a long, thin, unmarked package, the sender she couldn't account for. She had never received a present from anyone else, unless she were to count the Invisibility Cloak that Dumbledore had returned to Harry and herself during their first Christmas at Hogwarts, and she doubted he had any other Potter family heirlooms lying around his office.
Taking the wrappings off, she nearly dropped the object in shock. "What—?"
It was a Firebolt, the newest, fastest model of broom in existence. Hermione gasped in surprise at the sight of it as well.
"How did- who sent it?" She asked. Leila merely shook her head.
"I don't know…but whoever did send it, sent it to the wrong room. I can't possibly be the owner of this!" She hurriedly pulled a bathrobe over her nightclothes and descended the girls' dormitory stairs, only to run up the identical boys' set. Knocking on the door, she pushed it open a little at the invitation in from the boys inhabiting it, not sure of how to approach the topic.
She needn't have bothered, because as soon as she poked her face in, Ron called out to her,
"Leila, brilliant! We were just going to go get you to. Look at this!" he crowed, gesturing to the broom held reverently in her brother's hands, identical to her own.
"Huh?" Dumbfounded, she couldn't understand. Who would have sent both her and Harry Firebolts? Who had that kind of cash?
"I know, wicked, right? We're sure to win every game now—what have you got?" She entered to room fully, displaying the broom in her hands. "Merlin's beard!" Ron exclaimed, while Harry's gaze snapped up to it, and then to her face.
"Do you know who sent it?" They both asked at the same time, then looked a little sheepish as they both shook their heads in answer while Ron chuckled a little.
"Whoever it was must be rich, though," She said, and her twin nodded.
"But why wouldn't they want to take credit for it?" he added another question to the growing pile.
"Who cares?" Ron interrupted. "Wait till the other teams see them! Can't you just picture Malfoy's face?" He laughed at the image, but the merry-making was cut short as a voice cut through.
"I don't think any of this is funny," Hermione said framed in the doorway with Crookshanks curled up in her arms. A loud squeak sounded from Scabbers, who seemed to go spare at the sight of the cat, and made a leap off his owner's bed to scamper under Neville's.
"Scabbers!" Ron cried, crouching down at his hiding spot and trying to coax the rat out from under the bed. Crookshanks eyes were fixed on the same spot. "What'd you bring him here for?" their red-haired friend asked angrily, taking a break from luring his pet back out to point an accusing finger at Hermione's pet.
"Crookshanks is as much a part of this group as Scabbers is," Hermione pointed out, before saying, "But what I meant was, I don't think we should be doing anything with those brooms yet, except for turning them into a professor."
"What? Why?" Harry asked, holding his broom close.
"Well, think about it, Harry. You and Leila received very extravagant and tempting gifts from a mysterious sender. Now who has a murderous lunatic after them? You and Leila."
"Oh come off it—" Ron started to say, but Leila said.
"Hermione, why would Sirius Black waste thousands of Galleons to send us fancy cursed brooms when he could have sent poisoned candy or something like that? What's the point? Besides, the castle is sealed off at night, and not reopened until breakfast."
She dug around in Harry's nightstand for a minute before finding what she was looking for- the Marauder's Map. "So," she continued, "if he snuck in here to send it, he still has to be in the castle." She began to scan it top to bottom with her eyes, when Harry spoke.
"Hey, Pettigrew's left Ron's bed," he examined the small dormitory and pronounced, "he's haunting Neville, now." They had come to the conclusion that Pettigrew's spirit was hanging around the dorm, like a half-ghost, trying to find his old friends again. Hermione said that if that was true then he would be following Professor Lupin around, but it was the only theory that made sense.
" No Black, lucky for him," Leila said, folding up the map.
"But, he could have found a secret passage out of the castle!" The brunette protested.
"Hermione, we've been holding them for at least ten minutes now," Harry said evenly, "and nothing's happened. How can they be cursed?"
"It might not go into effect unless you're flying," she said, "but please, I don't want anything to happen to you to."
"You just don't like Quidditch," Ron returned.
"This isn't about Quidditch!" Hermione spat, starting to get angry, so in an attempt to defuse the situation Leila said,
"You know, I think I could go for breakfast right about now, let's head down."
Breakfast really was like never before, as students and teachers alike sat together and participated in regular Christmas traditions, Trelawney came down from her tower and heroically broke the '13 people' spell that was upon their table, the adults got a little tipsy, and Hagrid kissed McGonagall on the cheek. It was later when Harry, Ron, and Leila, staggered up to Gryffindor Tower in stitches over the look on Snape's face when the cracker had exploded to reveal the vulture-hat that they found out what had been done behind their backs.
Hermione had gone to Professor McGonagall over her concerns about the brooms, and the teacher confiscated the two presents, saying they were to be 'stripped' and tested for dark magic. Ron was in a righteous fury over the sneakiness of it all, Harry looked like his best friend had been killed, and Leila just couldn't understand why Hermione would have done it without their knowledge. They hadn't been her presents.
Heading to bed as late as possible, it was still awkward as she slunk to her bed, still being able to hear Hermione's lonely sobs from behind the other girl's curtains. They stopped as Leila's bed squeaked, and the black-haired girl winced.
"Leila?" Hermione sniffled. "Are-are you still angry with me?" She sounded so small, and Leila's shoulders slumped as she said.
"No, Hermione, I just….don't understand why you felt you had to go around us and talk to McGonagall about it. You've been keeping a lot of secrets this year, really. That's not what friends do," Of course, that led to Leila guiltily trying to block out Hermione's tears for the rest of the night.
Lavender and Parvati didn't much appreciate the unease that pervaded their dorm room upon returning from their homes for the new school term.
"What happened?" Lavender inquired, more out of curiosity to feed her rumor mills then anything else, Leila wryly thought.
"It's kind of complicated," she said vaguely, not really sure how to explain it herself.
Wood was devastated that a Firebolt had been within his team's grasp, but had been cruelly snatched away, and asked Professor McGonagall about the progress made in testing them every chance he got, causing the Gryffindor Head of House to become increasingly irritated with him.
"I'm curious as the why both of you received the same gift," Lupin remarked idly at their second Patronus lesson. After the near disastrous Quidditch match, Harry and Leila had become rather interested in how to repel dementors, and Professor Lupin had been kind enough to offer them lessons on the Patronus Charm. They used Harry's boggart form to practice, as opposed to a real dementor, however.
"I dunno," Leila replied, as it was Harry's turn to try and produce some semblance of a Patronus. "At first I thought mine was meant for Harry, but when he had one two, I didn't know what to think." Harry moved to the side a little and Leila hopped off the desk she'd been sitting on, pointing her wand and yelling, "Expecto Patronum!" A little silvery mist leaked from the wand, but nothing else happened, and so she retreated while Lupin forced the boggart back into the cabinet.
"That's enough for today, I think," he announced, handing them each a piece of chocolate which they swallowed gratefully. "And why couldn't it have been your present anyway, Leila? I'm sure you each have your equal share of admirers." He smiled a little at the rolled eyes he received from both. It dropped from his face, however, when Harry asked,
"Do you think Sirius Black could have sent them, sir?" Her twin tried to sound casual, but there was a bit of hidden interest in it as well, and Leila knew what was on his mind.
"You were friends with him, weren't you professor? You had to be," She said quietly, looking intently at the scarred man. Lupin sighed heavily.
"Yes, yes, I was….friends with Black, as was your father. We had no idea of what he would become. Sirius always seemed so—" he shook his head, clearing away the memories that his brain was leading him through.
"Well, whatever he was, I hope he's caught soon," Harry said, frowning with his gaze on the floor.
When they came back, Leila opted to get an early shower, leaving her homework for the weekend. Once finished, she dressed in her nightclothes and wrapped a towel around her wet head to keep from getting a chill, stepping back into her dorm. As she did, there came a flash of light in between her and Hermione's beds, and someone appeared from thin air.
It was a girl, with scraggly dark hair that still looked damp, wearing the same night-shirt and pants as her, holding a strange necklace on a gold chain that looked vaguely familiar.
"Wha—" she started to say, but couldn't quite finish when the other girl turned around, confused just as she. Hazel eyes….met hazel eyes, and identical scars on identical foreheads! Both panicked, Leila reached for her wand, while Leila also drew her fist back. "Who are—" each girl demanded, but the fist was faster, and Leila fell back onto the bed, the last thing in sight being her own terrified eyes.
"…la! Leila, please, wake up!" A voice commanded, and she managed to open one eye. The other wasn't cooperating for some reason. And then the headache kicked in.
"Ohh," she groaned, as someone helped her sit up. It was Hermione. "Hermione, I saw- I- I know it's going to sound crazy, but—" The other girl's eyes seemed to light up in realization and she began talking as if Leila hadn't spoken.
"This is when I find you! After you…alright, er, what to do, what to do…" This confusing speech only served to make her head hurt more, and she felt around her left eye where the pain originated. It was swollen shut, and she had a feeling would turn into a regular black eye soon.
"Here," Hermione said, pushing the other's hands aside and steadying her wand over to wound. She muttered a quick spell and the pain began to subside. "I can't do anymore than that, I only have time to look up that spell once I find out what happens to you, but the rest of the swelling will go down in about a half an hour." Even without the pounding head, no of what Hermione was saying made sense.
"Hermione, what're you—"
"I can't explain, Leila, I don't have time. I'll be back here in fifteen minutes, so I can't be seen. I'm so sorry, I should have told you and the boys a long time ago, but Professor McGonagall said—anyway, stay here in the dorm, you're not going mad, and just wait until I come back." With that, the other girl left the dorm room, running down the stairs and out of sight.
"What the bloody hell?" Leila asked to the empty room. She had to be going mad; it wasn't possible what she'd seen otherwise. Now that she had time to her thoughts she tried to fully register what she had seen. A person appearing magically in the dorm room had punched her out—no, she had punched herself out. "No, no, that's not possible. It couldn't have been me, I'm here right now." She rubbed at her wet hair with the towel to give her something to do, then became frustrated by not being able to understand what had happened, and threw the towel down, her messy hair, still a little wet falling all around her. Instead she opted to pace back and forth, not sure what was going to happen.
The door opened then and she glanced at the clock. It had been exactly fifteen minutes, just as Hermione said. And sure enough, when she whirled around, it was Hermione in the doorway, laden down with books from the library. 'How did she have time to gather that many and come back?' Leila thought as the brunette slipped over to her bed and began to pull off her sweater.
"What's going on?" She demanded sharply, as the other girl seemed to have all the answers to this strange evening. But instead, Hermione shrank back, and suddenly Leila realized that the Hermione she had conversed with a quarter-hour ago was been much bolder than Hermione had been acting in the weeks after the Broom Incident. Now she was back to the shy, timid girl constantly on the edge of tears.
"Wha-what? What did I do?" Hermione asked her as she took her nightgown out of her trunk.
"What do you mean, 'What did I do'? You just left fifteen minutes ago, saying you'd be back and that I wasn't allowed to leave the dorm until then!"
"I did that?" Hermione asked, seeming incredibly worried for some reason.
"You bloody well did!" Leila shouted, fed up with this crazy half-hour.
"I-I have to go," Hermione said, yanking the knitted sweater over her head again and stumbling from the dorm.
"I don't understand!" Leila nearly pulled at her hair, livid and frightened as she was, when a glint of gold caught her eye. Something had fallen from Hermione's bed and she stooped to pick it up. The necklace that she—the other she, had been holding!
Studying it closer, she saw that the design was comprised of an hour glass with a knob on the side meant for turning. She started to turn it then stopped, thinking she shouldn't be touching Hermione's possessions, even if the other girl was being annoyingly cryptic, and removed her hand from the knob.
The room began to swirl around her and she thought she saw things moving all around but she couldn't hear anything over the strange rushing noise. And just as quickly it all stopped, and she found herself still in the dorm.
But where were Hermione's books? And the towel she had used was missing from the floor. A door opened and someone stepped out of the bathroom, even though no one had been in there.
"Wha—" she heard a very familiar voice begin, and turned, not believing it. Hazel locked onto hazel, and both pairs of eyes searched for and found the same scar on the same forehead. She couldn't believe it was happening again, as she saw the identical girl go for a wand that belonged to both of them and before she could stop, the rage, fear, and confusion built up into a closed fist.
"Who are—" but this time she finished as the other girl fell on the bed, "you?"
She turned the girl over to get a closer look, and saw the beginnings of what would be a black eye before Hermione would heal it, and saw the wet hair coming loose from the towel wrapped around the head. She saw herself.
"Wha-what's happening?" But no one responded, and she couldn't stay here with no one but her unconscious self to keep her company.
Leila staggered away, shaking her head, and fled the room, tumbling down the stairs and tripping out of the portrait hole, not even glancing at anyone in the Common Room. No one stopped her, they had no reason to, as it was 8:30, before curfew. A grandfather clock on the wall begged to differ; it read 8:00.
But 8 o'clock was past, half an hour ago! And yet, half an hour ago, she had left the bathroom to find herself standing there, and had had the same wound inflicted upon herself as she had just inflicted. She tripped on a stair and toppled to the bottom of the flight, finding herself unable to rise again she was so weak-legged. Beyond comprehension and terrified, Leila curled up and wept bewildered tears, alone it the dark corridor.
Some time later, a soft hand ghosted over her arm, and she felt herself being pulled into a sitting position once more. Of course it was Hermione again, and her friend's personality had undergone another 180 degree turn.
"Oh Leila, I'm so sorry. This was my entire fault, I should've been more careful with it," Hermione was smoothing back her soggy tangled hair and gently prying away the strange necklace still clasped in her hand. It was as though the loosening of the tight grip she had on the mysterious jewelry also truly relieved her of everything and she sobbed onto her friend's shoulder until weariness settled within her.
"I still can't believe you let things go that far, Hermione, she could have really hurt herself!"
"Ah, calm down, Harry, she was able to send herself back or whatever to make sure things worked out, so there's no need to worry." Ron's voice.
"I really am sorry, Harry. I knew all the risks and implications and I was just careless. I'm going to make it up to you all, really I am."
"How's that?" Came her brother's voice, grudging but curious.
"'Min the Hospital Wing, aren't I?" She mumbled, and heard Ron give a little chuckle.
"Good guess. Alright there, Leila?" Sleepily she opened her eyes to the daylight, seeing him smile down at her from the chair beside her bed.
"Better, I think," she replied and began raising herself from the bed, Harry helping to prop the pillows up so she could sit.
"Madam Pomfrey thinks that she's taken care of the disorientation and anxiety, but how do you feel?" he asked, concern being the primary emotion.
"I dunno," she found herself saying, "I mean, I feel like I should be really worked up about something, but it's like I just can't bring myself to be."
"That's the anxiety potion," said the hospital matron brusquely, sending a breakfast tray to land on her lap with a flick of her wand. "Eat up, you still look a little pale. It's not every day someone accidentally sends themselves back in time to come face to face with themselves."
"Sorry?" She asked, nearly choking on a piece of bacon.
"It was my fault," Hermione blurted, "the necklace you picked up, it's a Time-Turner; I use it to go back in time to take extra classes. Professor McGonagall got for me from the Ministry and I promised I wouldn't mention it, but it just became a huge mess. I was so scared when I realized what happened, Leila, I've read reports about people who bump into their past selves and it drove them insane- I didn't want that to happen to you, I didn't!" This was said in a breathless rush reminiscent of Hermione's speeches from their first year.
"So, you're saying you've had this magical device all year that allows you to go back in time, and you've just been using that to take extra classes?" Leila asked incredulously, eyebrows raised high up her forehead. Hermione's shoulders slumped part in exasperation, part in relief as the boys laughed.
"I knew it," Harry chuckled.
"That's what I asked her!" Ron snickered.
"Well that's hardly surprising, you two are usually on the same page about these things," Harry pointed out while his best mate and his sister beamed at each other.
Though she had to have a long talk and mental examination from Madam Pomfrey, and the woman requested that she stop by before the end of the school year just to check again for any 'lingering effects', Leila was released soon after and was able to rejoin her peers. The best part was that Hermione's apology-present involved the girl entertaining them for a Divination lesson by declaring their teacher a fraud and storming theatrically from the classroom. All four friends agreed that it was the best class they'd ever had.
This will probably be the last chapter before the school year starts, so I apologize in advance for slower updates, but still keep an eye on this story people, I have plans for it!