Chapter 1: Introductions & Explanations
'This can't be . . . has to be some celebrity lookalikes,' thought Dan, trying to form a reply. "I'm sorry, I really can't help you, but I can give you an agent's name who specializes in look-alike casting."
"He doesn't believe what he's seeing, Harry," Hermione said. "He thinks we're actors."
"Dan, I really am Harry Potter. And we do need to speak to you."
"But . . . "
Just then Emma and Tom came around the corner, walking down the sidewalk, headed toward Dan's house, talking and laughing. Hermione looked over her shoulder and then turned back and with a smile said, "Let's see what they think, shall we?"
As Tom and Emma turned through the gate to walk to the front door, they looked up and saw the group standing on the porch.
"What the hell?" Tom gasped.
"Dan? Is everything alright?" Emma asked, then focused on Hermione and gasped. "Who are you?"
"Hermione Granger Weasley."
"WHAT? That's not possible, you're fictional characters!" Tom replied, frowning.
"I assure you, Tom, we are not!" Ron answered.
"This is a joke, right Dan?" Tom looked at his friend, standing in the doorway.
"Don't have a clue. I'm gob-smacked!"
"Perhaps we could discuss this inside?" Harry asked, politely. "We really are who we seem to be and we can prove it to you, if you would just give us a few minutes."
Dan looked straight into Harry's eyes and something he saw, deep within them, told him he actually was facing the real Harry Potter.
"Alright, come on in . . . Rupert should be along in a minute or two, though; could we wait for him before you start?"
"Great!" Ron said, smiling broadly. "I want to meet Rupert; he's me, spot on."
"You all are, come to that." Hermione added, as they entered the front hall.
They settled on the couches and chairs in the living room, and a slightly awkward silence settled over the group. Hermione was the first to try and start some conversation.
"I like you hair short, Emma . . . but I don't think I'd have the nerve to cut mine."
"Well, it was more of an 'I'm finally finished being Hermione' statement, than anything, oh! no offense! " Hermione nodded her understanding, so Emma continued. "Having to keep my hair long for the movies was part of the contract . . . and when we wrapped the last one, I just said 'that's it, no more long hair', although I will probably let it grow out again at some point in the future."
"I hear you've been to American, Dan . . . Broadway play?" Harry looked at the young actor and smiled.
"Yeah, I did Equus and then How to Succeed in Business. They were both revivals; did okay."
Hermione smiled at Harry. "He sounds just like you, Harry; too modest by half."
Any retort Harry or Dan were about to give was interrupted by the doorbell ringing.
"That will be Rupert, I'm guessing," said Ron, standing and heading for the door."I'll just let him in, shall I?" Without waiting for an answer, he opened the front door and stuck out his hand. "Rupert! Glad to finally meet you . . . Ron Weasley. Come on in!"
"Right . . Ron . . is this some prank Dan's got . . . up . . . for . . . " Rupert staggered to a halt as he entered the living room and saw who was there. "Blimey! Dan? What the bloody hell . . . ?"
"Spoken like a true Weasley," laughed Ron, as he threw his arm around Rupert's shoulder. "Have a seat, mate and we'll explain it all!"
"You're not serious!" Rupert looked around, as Hermione and Harry nodded. "Dan, really, what's going on?"
"I think we're about to find out," Tom replied, then looked at Harry. "Where's Draco?"
"Ah, I wondered if you'd ask. We decided that we'd come first, to tell you what we have in mind," Harry explained. "But he will be here soon, as he has the means of achieving the time travel. Meanwhile, we'll tell you all you have to know in order for you to make a decision about whether or not you want to help us."
"We could say no?" Rupert asked Ron.
"Sure, but that's not very Gryffindor of you," laughed Ron, as he sat down next to Hermione.
"I have one question, before you start." Emma looked at the Trio. "Is Jo Rowling a witch?"
"Ah, no. She's a very talented Muggle writer who was inspired, magically, to tell the story; it was an accidental crossover. There must be some magic, somewhere in her family and she just put it all down in book form, not realizing where the information originated.
"We need you to help us get the information and list of events contained in those books back in time, to give our younger selves a heads up as to what's going to happen, but unfortunately, it's best if we don't go back, ourselves, to deliver the books, but you can. Or at least, you can visit for a bit to explain what we'll have to do to stop Voldemort and possibly save some lives." Harry looked around at Dan, Tom, Emma and Rupert as he said this. Their faces showed their surprise, but it was Emma who then looked thoughtful, which made Hermione smile.
"But won't we be changing our futures, too? If you change what happens in the books, then there's no point in Jo writing them . . . so . . . no movies and we're probably not going to even know each other, much less spent ten years, half of our lives, working together . . . right?"
"Actually, we'll make sure the books stay the same, get published and then the movies will be made, just as it happened in your lives . . . it will only be the Wizarding world that will change, for the better. ." Hermione was quick to reassure them. "You all will still go on as you are, it's just that our world will have a different ending than the books. So they really will be fiction, well, the last few books, anyway."
"So, where in the stories would you think would be a good spot to 'drop in'? And how do you know the younger versions of yourselves will accept us, as opposed to the real thing, meaning you three, suddenly appearing?" Tom asked.
"We'll be able to send a message, explaining your arrival, with certain events mentioned that only we would know about, to prove your identities. And we were thinking of the holiday break during fifth year, when we were at Grimmauld Place. The books didn't came out until about the time of the Battle . . . we were a bit busy to notice them until later." Hermione smiled.
"Yeah, we know about the Battle . . . been there, done that." agreed Dan, which earned him a smile from Harry.
"You all would have to read through three books over that holiday?! Blimey, that's worse than homework!" Rupert exclaimed, which caused them all to laugh. "That could take days . . . WEEKS! Why not have everyone watch the movies and get it over with . . . your Dad would LOVE the equipment involved, Ron," he added, grinning at the near mirror image of himself.
"Don't I know it; he's glued to the telly every time he's over at Hermione and my house!" Ron agreed.
"I'd still take the books, though, to cross reference," suggested Emma to Hermione. "The screenwriter, with Jo's approval, skipped LOTs of stuff from the books and moved some events around, and left some characters out entirely, but she made sure all of the important things were included. But I could use a highlighter to mark key scenes in the books so you could find the details if anyone needed more information."
"Excellent!" Ron asked. "What's a highlighter?"
That put Rupert, Dan and Tom into fits of laughter, as Emma turned to Hermione. "So, he's like that in real life, too?"
"Yeah, pretty much." They both shook their heads.
"Have you seen the movies?" asked Tom
"Actually, no . . . I haven't, have you two?" Harry turned to Hermione and Ron.
"We've watched the first three; that's when I started wishing we'd known then what we know now, so to speak. It was bizarre watching you, Emma, being me." Hermione smiled at the other young woman. "I've been wondering how they made everything look so real . . . slightly off on some things, but amazingly correct on others."
"Computer graphics and special effects, which got more and more complex as the films went on, because of evolving software programs . . . . and CGI . . . " Emma realized by the blank looks on Harry and Ron's faces that she'd lost them early on in her explanation. Suddenly, her eyes lit up and she looked over at Dan & grinned. "Do you have the WB Wizard's Collection?"
"Of course, it's right over there." Dan pointed to a bookcase in the far corner. "In the cupboard at the bottom, why?"
"I can't think of a better way to show our friends here, what it took to make their world real. Then they might understand why we're not so freaked out by their being here." Emma rose and walked over to the cabinet and opened the door to retrieve a large red box, which she put on the coffee table."
"Speak for yourself, Emma, I haven't come face to face with Draco, yet," snorted Tom.
"Don't worry, he's good with this, especially if it saves his family from ruin," replied Harry.
"I thought the Malfoys managed to stay out of Azkaban after the war?" Tom looked perplexed.
"They did . . . however . . . Voldemort and the Death Eaters living at Malfoy Manor had seriously drained, almost emptied, if truth be told, the family vaults of most of their available funds and the Wizarding World was very slow in accepting Lucius back into any of the business dealing he'd had before the war. They recovered some of their social standing but without the luxury and glitz of the old days . . . still, Draco's come out of it better off than if he'd just followed Daddy into the family 'business', so to speak. Works for the Ministry, now, in the Department of Mysteries, believe it or not."
"NOT!" yelped Tom, making everyone jump. "You've got to be fucking kidding me! Him in THAT department!? Are you all insane!" he yelled.
"Relax, Tom, we don't know the circumstances or what, exactly his job involves . . . he could be head custodian for the Department of Mysteries, for all we know!" Rupert teased, effectively stopping Tom's rant in its tracks. With that picture in mind, smiles and chuckles spread around the room. As chance would have it, the doorbell rang again.
"Well, if it isn't Mr. Clean, himself! Ron announced, as he led Draco into the living room, to raucous laughter from all of the group.
Draco turned to Ron and raised an eyebrow. "Okay, Weasley, now what?"
"Nothing, we were just telling Tom where you were working."
"And that's hysterically funny?" Draco turned to look at the tall blond clutching his sides, laughing, with tears rolling down his cheeks.
"Sorry, mate, you had to be here," Tom managed to gasp, as he put his hand out for Draco to shake. "Glad to meet you, Draco."
"You'll tell me later, of course." shaking Tom's hand and then waving to Harry, who nodded, smiling.
"You know it; Slytherin to Slytherin."
"Oh dear, you are in trouble now," Ron teased Rupert.
"What? I didn't mean anything by it!"
'Tell that to Malfoy!"
"Don't start, you two!" warned Emma, who then turned to Hermione with a question. "Is this what Fred and George were like?"
"Yes, I'm afraid these two could well be as bad, if not worse, than the twins."
Ron and Rupert exchanged looks, then turned and said, as one. "Thank you, we consider that a compliment!"
Draco settled into an arm chair and looked over at Harry, eyebrow raised. "Well, have they agreed?"
"Not quite yet, as we're still discussing ways of telling our former selves all the information in the books . . . possibly showing them the Muggle movies, as they hit the high spots and filling in the gaps with excerpts from the books."
"Could work, save some time, but the electronics will be a bit of a problem, don't you think?"
"Ah, yes, there wasn't any electricity at Grimmauld Place, back then."
"Not at #12- but how about next door?" Rupert asked, a gleam in his eye. "We could find the breaker box and tap into it for a few days . . . it's Christmas; everyone's running extra lights, cooking more, so they expect their utility bill to be up a bit."
Emma and Hermione both looked aghast. "That's stealing, Rupert!" Emma scolded.
"So, we'll mail them a refund check in January for a couple of quid! You have a better idea?"
Ron looked at Harry and grinned. "Thinks like a Weasley, too."
Hermione looked at Emma and then shrugged. "We suppose not, but do you know how to do that?"
Emma added, head cocked to one side. "We can't have you burning the place down!"
Dan held up his hand to draw Rupert's attention.
"What?"
"Perhaps we can have Remus or Sirius put a spell on the neighbors so they wouldn't see an extension cord running into #12 for the duration of our stay? That way nobody has to risk getting zapped."
"Brilliant!"
Draco was grinning and shaking his head, then he looked at Tom and they both rolled their eyes.
"Sounds like you all are agreeing with this plan of ours?" Draco asked, looking at Dan, Emma and Rupert in turn.
"Well, I suppose we are, but we still have lots of details to hear, from you especially, Draco, so we'll understand what you want us to be sure to point out to all of those at Grimmauld Place." Emma replied, looking at Dan, who nodded.
"And how, exactly, we're going to get there . . then . . and if we'll be gone any length of time, in actuality . . . we do have lives, too, you know." Dan added.
"You won't lose any time, here, now, as you'll be using a modified Time Turner. Contrary to popular belief, not all of them were smashed at the end of our fifth year when Potter and his 'Posse' went to the Ministry." Draco informed them.
" 'Posse', I like that, Draco." Harry laughed.
"One of my better ones, I admit." acknowledged Draco, bowing to polite applause and a few snickers.
"That gives me an idea, too." Hermione smiled slyly.
"Oh, Merlin, here we go." Ron threw up his hands and stood. "Got anything to eat, Dan? or DRINK! When she gets that look . . . "
"Yeah, I know . . . I remember . . ." Dan jumped up. "I'm being a rotten host. I have beer and soda in the refrigerator, snacks in the pantry, tea, coffee and the makings of dinner for later. "Let's us men beat a tactical retreat until the two Hermiones," who were sitting with their heads together talking rapidly, "Finish plotting and decide to share their thoughts with us."
"Give us our assignments, you mean?" Rupert headed toward the kitchen with Ron trailing close behind.
"Exactly." Dan and Harry replied at the same time.
Draco looked at Tom and shook his head. "Gryffindors." Tom snorted and nodded agreement.