A/N - As of now, I have through Chapter 4 written, and they only start reading in Chapter 5. This means if there is a super specific reaction you are hoping for from a specific character, feel free to request it.
It also means I may not keep up the weekly posting. Just depends on when inspiration strikes and whether or not I have the time to write when it does.
These chapters have been gone over several times by myself, and also by a friend or two, but I don't have an official beta, so please let me know if you see any grievous errors that throw you out of the story. I hate that when I'm reading, so I definitely don't want it in my writing!
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Harry had barely had time to tuck the letter away before he found himself wrapped in Hermione's arms, her bushy hair almost choking him before he got an arm up to push it back from his face.
She was already whispering a mile a minute in his ear, and he had to struggle to catch everything she said.
"I don't know what in the world is going on, Harry James, where we are or why we're here, but oh, Merlin, I am so thankful you survived that dragon and I will be yelling at you for that later! But first, where am I, how did I get here, why are you here, and holy shit are there a whole lot of people in this room that I'm not entirely sure about."
Hearing that, he looked over her shoulder, then wrapped his arms around her. Speaking quietly and refusing to take his eyes off the Slytherins he had noticed, he tried to reassure her. "I have something to share with you later, but right now, all I can tell you is I'm not entirely sure where we are, but our future selves put us here, for a purpose. They said we can trust everyone in this room with our lives."
His pragmatic friend pulled back, eying him with concern. "Did you get hurt? Did the dragon hit your head somehow?"
Harry snorted, knowing how difficult it would be for Hermione to just accept what had happened. He looked around the room again, noting that it had grown quite a bit larger since he first appeared. There were now doors leading out in various directions, with Snape currently slamming them open one at a time, Draco Malfoy and Theodore Nott watching him.
All four of the Hogwarts Heads of House were there, in fact, as were…he counted quickly…all the Weasleys.
Bill and Charlie had their wands out and were in defensive postures, as their younger siblings looked around themselves curiously.
Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood stood against a wall, trying to avoid the adults. Neville was looking around fearfully, while Luna calmly studied the ceiling.
Before Harry could continue noting the others in the room, Luna faced forward and cheerfully called out, "Welcome, Stubby! I am so glad you have joined us. I think you will be a very important part of things here."
Harry's head quickly snapped in the direction she was looking, and found Remus Lupin and Padfoot standing there. He quickly disengaged himself from Hermione's arms. Throwing himself at the dog, hitting his knees and wrapping his arms around the furry neck, he started whispering urgently into his ear.
"Why are you here, Padfoot? You shouldn't be here! I can't lose you, I can't! They'll try to take you away from me, or hurt you, I can't do this, Padfoot. You're all I have left."
A warm tongue licked his cheek, and Harry realized that he was crying. Sitting back on his heels, he hastily wiped his cheeks just as his Head of House approached.
"Mr. Lupin," Professor McGonagall's voice was stern, but Harry could hear the underlying worry. "I wasn't aware that you had a dog as a familiar. Is there a reason that you chose to bring him with you today?"
Remus's voice was low and calm when he answered, placing a gentle hand on the head of the young boy in front of him. "Minerva. It's a pleasure to see you again. My familiar was a recent addition to the family, but I'm afraid I really wasn't given a choice about bringing him with me today. We were on a walk when we suddenly found ourselves in this room."
He looked around quickly, his fingers unconsciously running through Harry's hair. The younger man leaned into the touch, keeping his arms around Padfoot. "Minerva," Remus's voice was hesitant and barely above a whisper. "Is that Mad-Eye? He looks terrible! I thought he was teaching at the school this year. What's wrong with him?"
Professor McGonagall's sharp eyes quickly zeroed in on the man in question, slumped against a wall, unable to stand straight on one leg. He had an eye patch where his magical eye was normally zooming and large chunks of his hair missing. His robes were dirty and ill-fitting, his skin tone too pale to be healthy.
Professor McGonagall gasped in horror, already moving towards him. "Alastor! What in the world has happened? You look terrible!"
Remus took advantage of her distraction to lean down to whisper to Harry and Sirius. "It's okay, Harry. He will stay as Padfoot until we find out what's going on and make sure it's safe." His words were accompanied by a sharp look at the dog, who whined back at him.
Harry gave him one last hug, then stood and wrapped his arms around a surprised Remus. "Thanks, Moony. I know you won't let anything happen to him."
Remus buried his fingers into Harry's hair again, enjoying the paternal feel the thin arms around his waist gave him. "Of course not, Harry. If we have our say, nothing will ever hurt you again."
The words made Harry pull back sharply, suddenly remembering what was to come. "I think things are going to get worse before they get better, Moony. Maybe we should work on calming everyone down and getting started on finding out why we're here." His green eyes were glinting with determination, and Remus looked at him appraisingly.
With a short nod, Remus grabbed Padfoot's scruff and led him away, towards where Madam Pomfrey was looking over Mad-Eye.
Harry moved slowly towards the chair he had been sitting in when the others joined. Looking around curiously, he noticed that there was also a tall black man standing with Pomfrey and Moody, his wand out and his eyes constantly scanning the room. His red robes marked him as an auror, and Harry was both nervous and glad to see law enforcement in the room. He just hoped that he could make them understand Sirius's innocence before anything bad happened.
Reaching what he was already considering "his" chair, Harry smiled to see Hermione's head bent close to Ron's, talking in her usual mile a minute fashion. He knew the fight between himself and Ron had taken a toll on her, and he was happy to see her getting some time with the redhead.
Harry continued to look around the room. Now that he was semi-comfortable with the people in it, he could allow himself to relax enough to take in the new furnishings. In addition to the chair he was standing in front of and the side table next to it, there were now bean bags everywhere in a rainbow of colors. Luna had already happily claimed a sparkly pink one, and pulled Neville down onto a dark blue one beside her. Harry smiled to see his young friend being sure Neville was as comfortable as possible, and happy that she had chosen bags close to his own chair.
Taking a seat, he waited calmly as people continued to mill around the room, talking in different groups, some exclaiming and some whispering, everyone wondering why they were there. Feeling eyes on him, Harry looked up to see Malfoy and Nott both watching him consideringly, while Snape whispered at them with clear agitation.
He quirked a questioning eyebrow at the two boys, still wondering how his future self could think they were safe. He remembered the letter mentioning that they had helped with the spell work to bring them all here, and his look turned considering.
Before he could decide whether he wanted to go over and talk to them, there was a bright flash of light, causing many in the room to cry out. Looking to the table beside him, Harry found another letter. This one had words on the outside of the envelope, addressed to him, and he quietly picked it up.
The adults in the room immediately started yelling at him about possible danger, and Hermione tried to grab it from his hands, but he just rolled his eyes and started reading the note.
Harry,
Welcome to the insanity. We're so pleased you chose this route. I'm sure everyone, especially me, is yelling at you right now, but see if you can get them to calm down and relax a bit before you open this letter and share it with everyone.
It will explain why you are all here, and give them a few suggestions for possible ways to move forward once the readings are finished.
Also, you should be able to just ask the room for anything you need. I would suggest you start with asking for a leg and magical eye for Moody, along with some medical supplies that Madam Pomfrey will need for him.
Good luck, Harry, we all love you.
Hermione
Harry sighed, placing the sealed letter down in his lap. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself, then whistled loudly. The yelling immediately stopped, everyone shocked to hear the noise.
Ron was the first to shake off the shock and speak up. "Mate, I didn't know you could whistle like that!"
Neville snorted. Mumbling under his breath, Harry could barely make it out when he said, "Clearly you have never been stupid enough to argue with Luna while he's trying to study."
Harry snorted and dropped a quick wink in Neville's direction. His friend flushed as Luna giggled, but he offered a small smile.
Looking around the room again, Harry took another moment to make sure his voice was steady before he spoke loudly and clearly. "If everyone would like to find a seat and get comfortable, I have a letter here that says it will explain why we are all here."
Protests immediately broke out, and Harry rolled his eyes. He was tired, he was sore, and he really just wanted to get this over with so he could find somewhere to crash, preferably for a full twelve hours.
As everyone around him argued, he closed his eyes and concentrated on the items he had been told to request. When he heard Hermione's gasp, he opened his eyes to see the wooden leg and magical eye on the side table, and a box of Potions on the floor in front of him.
"Madam Pomfrey," he raised his voice slightly to be heard over all the conversations and arguments that were ongoing. "I believe you could use these items to help Professor Moody feel better."
Madam Pomfrey bustled over in her efficient manner, quickly cataloging the items and Potions. Before she could turn back to Mad-Eye, Snape was joining her, insisting that he be allowed to examine the Potions before she used them.
Harry laid his head back against the seat, deciding it was easier to let the stern Potions professor do what he wanted rather than arguing.
He felt Hermione's small hand creep into his from the side opposite where Neville and Luna had taken seats. Opening his eyes, he offered her a tired smile.
"Are you okay, Harry? You said you had something to show me?" His brown haired friend was whispering, throwing cautious looks at the other inhabitants of the room.
Before he could answer, Ron was throwing himself on the floor in front of Harry, already exclaiming loudly. "Mate, I thought you were going to die! That flying - I mean, wow! I knew you were good, but that was insane!"
Harry gave Hermione's hand a gentle squeeze as he raised an eyebrow at Ron, his eyes cold. "Decided to speak to me again, did you? What changed your mind this time? Decide that since my life is actually in danger, you could worm your way back into my good graces?"
He watched calmly as the tips of Ron's ears turned red before he continued. "Or did you decide I know something about why we're here, so you would try to get information out of me? I don't know why you would bother. I'm sure you wouldn't believe a word that came out of the mouth of an attention seeking liar, would you?"
Close by, Malfoy and Nott exchanged a glance at the harsh words. They knew the Golden Trio hadn't been seen together much since the Choosing Ceremony, but they hadn't realized things had deteriorated so far.
A silent conversation was exchanged between the two, using facial expressions and eyebrows, before they turned as one and took the beanbags closest to Hermione. Neither boy was sure exactly what was happening, but they did know they wanted front row seats for the drama that was surely coming.
Ron's face was now bright red. He stammered a few things that sounded like excuses and justifications to Harry, but before he could get any solid words out, Charlie and Bill were pulling him away and the twins were taking his place.
"Harrikins!" Fred started the conversation, as he usually did. "How are you, our youngest brother from a different mother?"
Harry just raised an eyebrow, waiting for the recriminations to start for the way he had spoken to Ron.
"Relax, Harry." George, always the gentler of the two, spoke quietly, giving him a sad smile. "Unfortunately, we are well aware of what a git our brother is. We just wanted to check on you, see how you're doing after the task. That tail got you pretty good, didn't it?" Next to him, Fred was nodding earnestly, his eyes scanning the bloody rip in Harry's robes.
Harry shot them a grateful look, his hand still clenching Hermione's. He watched Fred's eyes dart down quickly, then turn back to his shoulder, and he shot a smirk at George. He turned to Hermione with the intention of teasing her, but when he found her deep in an Arithmancy discussion with Theodore Nott, he turned back to the twins.
"How long do you figure it will take Snape to okay those Potions? I'd like to get things moving so that I can go crash. Pomfrey healed my shoulder, but I'm still sore and exhausted."
The twins shared a look, then gave a decisive nod. Standing up, Fred started to holler. "Oi! If everyone except Professor Snape, Madam Pomfrey, and Professor Moody could please find a seat, things will move faster, and then we can all find out why we're here!"
Mrs. Weasley opened her mouth to reprimand her son, whether for yelling or being disrespectful, Harry wasn't sure. Before she could get a word out, Mr. Weasley had wrapped a calming arm around her shoulders and led her to a beanbag large enough for them to share.
The other adults in the room slowly moved around, choosing beanbags with disdainful looks.
Professor McGonagall stood in front of a tartan beanbag, examining it closely, before she eventually sniffed, then changed into her Animagus form and leapt into the center of the bag, kneading her claws into the soft fabric.
Remus settled into a bright yellow beanbag, and Sirius sniffed carefully at the orange one next to him before he quickly made his way across the room and laid across Harry's feet.
The rest in the room quickly followed suit, anxious to find out where they were and why. The younger generation threw themselves carelessly onto the beanbags, while the adults sat gingerly, afraid of curses or pranks.
Professor Snape looked around quickly, sneering when he spotted his Slytherins not only settled on beanbags, but sitting next to Granger. Deciding it was in his best interest to be civil for the moment, he finally said, "Our thanks, Mr. Weasley. Madam Pomfrey and I should have Alastor feeling better in short order. Then we can find out why Mr. Potter has deemed it wise to bring us all here."
Harry rolled his eyes at the sneer directed his way, then turned to talk quietly with Neville and Luna as the twins quickly made their way to the only other double beanbag in the room.
Eventually, Professors Snape and Moody, along with Madam Pomfrey, rejoined the rest of the group. Moody still appeared ill, but with his eye and leg in place and the Potions working through his system, he at least didn't look like he was going to pass out at any second.
They helped Moody settle into a red and green striped beanbag, then Madam Pomfrey settled into the paisley one right next to him.
Moving towards the only free beanbag in the room, Snape stopped short when he realized it was covered in a loud print of Disney characters. With another vicious sneer, he quickly drew his wand and attempted to transfigure the beanbag into a straight back chair.
When his spell failed, he whipped around and aimed his glare at Harry. "Potter. What is this abomination? What have you done?"
Harry raised his hands and aimed for his most innocent look. "I had nothing to do with the seating options, Professor, I swear. They appeared with the room."
Snape watched him critically for a moment, then spoke quietly, his voice silky. "I note, Potter, that you do not claim that you have no responsibility for us being here. I wonder why that might be?"
Padfoot jumped to his feet and started snarling, while the Weasleys all started yelling at the top of their lungs.
Harry merely sat quietly, eyes locked with Snape's, until the noise softened enough that he thought he could be heard without yelling. "I do accept responsibility for us being here, Professor, though I swear I had no idea that you would be involved. I think this letter has more information, if we can read it. Sir."
With another glare, Snape settled angrily on the beanbag, gesturing that Harry should hurry up and tell them what was going on.
"Right. Um. So…I didn't realize that all of you would be involved, and I'm sorry. It looks like we're going to be stuck together for the foreseeable future."
"What did you do, Potter? When my father hears about this - "
Harry cut Malfoy off. "I have no idea why the people who are involved are here. I don't know why you lot were chosen. I don't know why Slytherins are involved. All I know right now is that the future me pulled me into this room and left me a letter, which included the option to completely ignore it or to take a chance and try to change the future."
Malfoy started sputtering, but this time, it was Neville who cut him off. "Oh, give it a rest, Malfoy. We're never going to find out what's going on if you can't keep your big mouth shut." He flushed a bright red as all the eyes in the room focused on him, including Moody's magical eye. Bracing himself, he raised his chin. "If Harry says we're here to help change the future, it must be bad. Maybe Voldemort wins. Maybe we all die. I don't know, but I trust Harry, and I want to hear what he has to say."
Harry shot him a grateful look as the twins started shouting, "Hear, hear!"
Professor McGonagall returned to her human form, sitting on her beanbag with a bearing as regal as when she sat behind her desk. Her gaze was stern as she looked around the room, meeting the eyes of each person before moving on to the next. "I believe our best course of action at this point is to let Mr. Potter read the letter he has received. After that, we will have more information on which to act."
Mrs. Weasley looked like she wanted to protest, but once again Mr. Weasley stopped her before she could say anything. She leveled a dirty look at him, and Harry found himself quite impressed with how easily the older man ignored it.
"Thank you, Professor. Like I was saying, I found a letter that was just to me when I got here. Apparently, we do eventually win the war and defeat Voldemort in 1998. But…we lose people. Several of the people in this room." Mrs. Weasley's shriek cut him off again, and he waited while Bill and Charlie moved closer to their parents to help keep her calm.
"There are other bad things. Something called a Muggleborn Registration. Some of our classmates choose to leave the magical world over it, and their wands are confiscated. Some of the people they said we lose…if there's anything I can do to prevent it, I have to. I'm sorry, I didn't know you would all be pulled into this, but I just have to." Harry was nearly hyperventilating by the end, and Padfoot whined.
Leaving his beanbag, Remus made his way quickly to Harry's side. He wrapped him in a hug, rubbing a comforting hand down the boy's spine. He frowned, concerned about how easily he could count each individual vertebrae as his hand passed over it, but shoved his unease aside for the time being.
"We'll figure it out, Harry. We will. We're all here for a reason, even if we don't understand it yet. We just need to work together to figure things out, that's all. If they're giving you an opportunity to change things, of course you had to try! Nobody here would expect anything else from you, kiddo. It's just who you are."
The tears Remus could feel wetting his shoulder shocked him, but they shouldn't have. Everyone tended to forget that Harry was just a 14 year old boy, forced to shoulder too much responsibility. Forced to participate in a tournament he had no interest in. Forced to compete against people he considered friends.
The words were mumbled, Harry's face still buried in Remus's shoulder, but his sensitive hearing caught them anyway. "I'll lose Sirius, Moony. I would have turned my back on almost every other loss, but I can't lose Sirius. We have to save him, Moony. I have to save him."
Remus felt his own eyes starting to swim, but before he could respond, a small blonde head was pushing its way between himself and Harry. He looked down in surprise, but Luna didn't even acknowledge him. She had pried Harry far enough away from his chest that the smaller boy was now leaning forehead to forehead with her, and she was staring directly into his eyes, her small hands wiping the tears from his cheeks.
"Shhhh, shh, it's okay, Harry. Of course we're going to help you save Stubby. The world needs more of his music, of course, but more importantly, you need more of his love."
The remaining members of the room sat quietly, even the Slytherins unwilling to intrude on the grief they could practically feel pouring off of Harry in waves.
Once he had calmed down, Luna gave him a last squeeze, then smiled brightly at Remus before retaking her seat.
Remus laid a heavy but calming hand on Harry's shoulder while Padfoot leaned against his legs. "Harry…" Remus hesitated, searching Harry's eyes. Whatever he saw there made him sigh heavily, but he nodded and went back to his seat.
Harry sniffled once, then took a deep breath. "Right. So. I guess the best thing to do now would be to read this letter. I'm sure it will explain things better than I can."
He did his best to ignore the snorts he heard from Snape and Malfoy, choosing to concentrate on breaking the seal to the letter.
He drew out several pieces of parchment, and with another deep breath, he began to read.
Hello from 2007,
First, let me say that we're sorry for the way we pulled you all into this. It was necessary, and we think you will see that as things progress.
This room will provide you with everything you need, and most things you want. Yes, 'Mione, we know about Gamp's Law. After our little camping trip (you'll hear all about that in Book 7, and it was a doozy), you and Theo started researching, and found a way around it. Please don't ask me to explain, you know I'm pants at the theory part of magic. Just believe us when we say you won't starve. You can also ask for Potions, and Professor Snape can ask for ingredients and a Potions Lab. The room will provide it all.
Hermione, Theo and Draco were eventually able to work out how to make this room a possibility, and then a reality. Thank God the three of you first became colleagues, and then friends, or we wouldn't have been able to pull this off. The room exists in a pocket of Wizard Space outside of time, so when the readings are finished, the worst case scenario is that everyone will be returned to exactly the time and place they came from, with all memories of what you learn here intact, and no more time than a single heartbeat having gone by.
We say "worst case scenario" because let's be honest - time travel and the magic surrounding it is a bitch to figure out, even for these three geniuses. What we are completely comfortable with is that nobody will be killed, though we are somewhat hopeful that the future us will simply…cease to exist. We have discussed this for a long time, and we're okay with it. If we can save those that were lost in our timeline, it will all be worth it.
Our plan, and our hope, is that the entire world will reset itself to right before our first year at Hogwarts, but with you still retaining the memories you have from this room. Barring that, we are confident that the absolute worst that will happen is you will reappear exactly where you were taken from, which means someone had better get Moody out of that damned trunk.
Things you ask for or that you write down will leave with you when you go, so take as many notes as you think you might need. The only thing you won't be able to take are the books you are going to read, and there's going to be a lot to remember if you want to fix things.
We're sorry for putting this on your shoulders, on any of your shoulders, but we think you will understand as you move forward through the books. We are hoping that with this knowledge, you can change things. Make things better. Stop certain people from coming to power, and help elevate others that will do justice for our world.
It is absolutely imperative that you know you can trust every single person in the room right now. If we had even the slightest doubt, we didn't include them. We chose you very carefully. Yes, Ron, Gred, Forge, we are aware that Draco can be quite a prat. To be honest, he was in our timeline, too. It was only after the war that he grew up and we all became friends. Give him a chance to see what his life could become. Give him a chance to change his mind. Remember, we are all a product of our circumstances, and while Draco's parents undoubtedly love him, they place him in a completely unwinnable situation.
On to what we have asked of you: we started with Harry, because no matter how much he hates it, the war does center on him. As such, the books we will be sending you to read are mostly about him, and mostly from his point of view. Well…from my point of view, I guess, since I am writing this to you.
There have been "improvements" in the future (and yes, it is necessary that you read that in quotations, because I am still questioning these three geniuses about what they've done) to the magic of Pensieves, and the squib we found to write these books…she was able to access my thoughts and feelings at any given time. As such, these books are going to expose the younger me in a way I have never had before. You are going to hear things that are hard for you to listen to. Sometimes I can be mean, and angry, and occasionally even nasty. But please remember…no matter how hard it is for you to hear, young Harry is living it. These are marketed as fantasy to Muggles in the future, but they are very accurate and true to what I have already lived through, and to what my future will be if you don't change it.
To Kingsley and Moody - we need you to know that Sirius Black is innocent. We are fairly sure that the Order of the Phoenix hasn't been reinstated yet, so you won't have Dumbledore's word to go on like you did in our time. The entire truth will come out in Book Three, but for now, you will just have to take our word for it. His name was cleared posthumously in our timeline.
Yes, you read that right. Sirius Black died in our timeline. It hurt a lot of people, but it destroyed me. We had barely found each other and then he was ripped away by Bellatrix LeStrange in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries in 1996.
Others that are currently in the room will also be lost in the war. We won't list them all here, because we are giving you the chance to change it all. Besides, you'll read about it in the books.
To the Heads of House - we strongly suggest you pay close attention, and think hard about your current levels of loyalty to Albus Dumbledore. Some of what you hear will undoubtedly be difficult to understand, but the man has moved beyond seeing people, and only sees pieces on a chessboard. This is why we have chosen not to involve him in these readings. Harry, specifically, is his favorite pawn. I was raised literally for slaughter, and it was only a fluke that I survived. It isn't something I realized until I was literally walking to my death. Save the Harry in the room from that same fate.
To Madam Pomfrey - we included you for multiple reasons, but the main ones, to be honest, were to tend to Professor Moody, and…well, we have a sneaking suspicion that some of the adults in the room are going to insist on some medical checks before very long. In addition, we did very purposely pull your Harry from right after the First Task, and we know you like to keep an eye on healing injuries.
Once this letter is finished, the first book will appear, along with some parchment and quills for anyone that wants to take notes. You'll have to finish each book before the next appears. It might not be a bad idea to voluntarily leave your wands in your rooms, as the desire to hex people will definitely be strong, but we won't force the issue. We trust you are all mature enough to understand what is at stake here.
Good luck.
Sincerely,
Hadrian "Harry" James Potter
Lord of the House of Potter
Lord of the House of Black
2nd May 2007
Harry slowly lowered the letter to his lap, swallowing harshly, unsure what the reception to the words might be.
Before anyone had a chance to react, another flash lit the room, and the first book, along with a stack of parchment and several quills, appeared on the side table.
Before he could even consider touching it, Mrs. Weasley had jumped up and clapped her hands together sharply. "Well. That is a lot to take in. How about I start some dinner, and we can discuss all of this over a proper meal?" Without waiting for a reply, she bustled off to the kitchen and started going through the cupboards.