Hey everyone... The wait is over!

Here's Chapter 113, Enjoy!

Harry was sitting, a little calmer than he was a few hours earlier, in front of three senior Practitioners from the Monastery.

"Mr Potter," began one of the Practitioners, apologetically. "Your description of the whereabouts... indicates a lapse in our practice, and we'd sincerely like to apologise," she said.

After a brief pause, the next Practitioner continued, "The cave must have been dripping with dark magic, traces that the Horcrux would have left," he added, cautiously.

"The real Horcrux was stolen and a fake one was kept instead. We have no idea how much time has passed, how many years..." remarked Harry, a little annoyed.

"Indeed, Mr Potter, we understand your frustration," retorted the third Practitioner, calmly. "And we'd like to rectify our lapse," she added.

"I want you to perform the ritual again, right now," exclaimed Harry, sounding urgent.

"But, Mr Potter," interjected the third Practitioner. "Miss Jane's condition is quite critical," he remarked.

"And I want to find the real location of the locket before she wakes up," retorted Harry, instantly and sternly.

The Practitioners glanced at each other, hesitantly.

"Sure, Mr Potter, we will begin the preparations," replied the first Practitioner.

Jane was being treated in the Sanatorium. It was only the day before that she had arrived, barely conscious and in the collection of her marbles, with the help of Harry. Immediately, she was taken to the Sanatorium where the Practitioners there had determined her condition as critical.

After raging at the Practitioners in the Sanctuary, Harry had rushed to the Sanatorium where firstly, he was treated for the shock and minor bruises he had suffered. When they had asked him what had happened, he had no answer. Harry wasn't quite sure how they had escaped the Crystal Cave, alive. He considered himself incredibly lucky that his magic supported him, that right at the end, Jane came through, if only for a single but destructive blow.

Only after a long time, did Harry get an opportunity to inquire about Jane's condition.

And when he did, he got an uncertain response.

"She's in a coma, Mr Potter. The potion has completely shut down her primary bodily functions. Muscle weakness, full body paralysis, respiratory distress, abdominal pain, and bleeding are just some of the things she's suffering from," informed the Practitioner. And she continued, "The potion is attacking all essential organs. We fear her vision is next," she added. "We are trying our best to..." she continued, but got interrupted.

"Mr Potter, Miss Jane is in capable hands, we will be able to heal her," said the senior Practitioner standing beside them.

…

{… Flashback …}

There was a booming cracking sound, John and Jane landed on the cold hard street surrounded by darkness, like falling off a broomstick flying a few feet up from the ground.

The moment they landed, the twins got up to their feet, the adrenaline surging through their veins quashing any kind of disorientation and nausea that they might have otherwise had.

"Lily?" exclaimed John, loudly.

But there was no one around. It seemed like a deserted street. There were a few residences on either side of the street, there were even some that had lights on, but it was very different from where they had just come from.

"John..." whispered Jane.

"What just happened? Where is Lily? And the other Lily, baby Harry?" asked John, hastily looking around.

"Oh my God," gasped Jane as she pulled her brother closer to her, the realisation followed by the shock. "She sent us back to our time, John," gasped Jane, stunned.

For the twins, only a short while back were they in their home, the year was 2027. They had been preparing for this day, the day when they'd accompany Lily to the past, to her time, the year 1981, to protect Harry and James. They had successfully travelled back in time, to 1981. But things had gone south immediately. Voldemort arrived at Godric's Hollow and attacked the Potters. Despite older Lily, John and Jane's intervention, he had managed to kill James. Only a few minutes back, they were fighting Voldemort to death. But something had happened. And suddenly, the twins found themselves being transported through time and space.

"What... No, no she did not..." mumbled John, pulling away from his sister. He took a few steps, aimlessly, away from Jane, towards the deep end of High Street. But before he could go much further, he felt pain surging all over his body, his broken ribs, bruised hip, lacerated torso, arms, legs, and everywhere else, and he fell to his knees, as Jane's words rang in his ear.

By then, Jane had slumped to the ground as well, her injuries taking a toll on her. The twins lay on the ground, quietly, a few feet apart, without moving, for many moments. The world had come to a standstill. Nothing in their life had prepared them for what had happened, and what potentially lay ahead.

After a long time, Jane spoke up. "John... John... are you alright?" she asked, struggling to get back to her feet.

John, who had been lying on the ground motionless, tried to move his body, but could hardly manage to.

"We need to get out of here... Somebody is staring at us," whispered Jane as she got close to him.

This time, John did manage to get up and immediately stared back at the old woman staring at the twins. They couldn't see the old woman's face very well, but it was quite late in the night for anyone to be awake, and they did not want any further trouble.

"Hold on to me, I'll apparate us out of here," whispered Jane. One moment, the twins were at Godric's Hollow, the next they disappeared followed by a cracking sound. Far away, the twins reappeared, only a moment later, bringing with them a cracking sound that split the air.

Looking dishevelled, John stared around, confused. "Where have you brought us?" he asked.

However, to his surprise, Jane looked equally puzzled. "Oh no," she gasped after a moment.

By then, John had realised where they were. "This is... our street," he whispered.

And John was correct. The twins were standing right in front of where their house will be, on the street, their house will be. However, their house wasn't there. All that stood in front of them was a hut. Slightly bigger than regular huts, but a hut nevertheless.

"She didn't send us back to our time, John," whispered Jane, dejected.

"Where are we?" gasped John, but neither of them had an answer to that question. Shocked, the twins started walking away from the house. A couple of minutes later, their feet had taken them to the nearby lake, a place that John used to frequent, in his time. And the night faded away just like that, as the twins sat on a bench and dozed off to sleep.

It was early in the morning when Jane woke up, her head was resting on John's shoulder, her hair was messed up and her clothes were torn. She had bruises all over her body, and a few of them were aching badly. She sat up straight only to realise that John was wide awake.

"Hey," she said, her voice coming out as a whisper.

"Hmm," responded John.

"Did you get any sleep?" asked Jane.

"A little," replied John, fiddling with 2 wands in his hand.

After a moment, John got up, hobbling as he did and knelt face-to-face with Jane. Slowly he moved his wand around over Jane's arms, and body, covering her ribs and down her thighs, calves and ankles.

"I have done what I can to treat your injuries," he said, blankly. "But we will have to see a healer," he added.

"Thanks, you should too," she replied, a brief smile appearing on her face, as John went back to his seat beside Jane. After a moment, she spoke up, "Whose is the other wand?" she asked.

"Lily's," replied John handing her the wand. "The other Lily's," he added. "I picked it up when..." he continued, but his voice got stuck.

Jane put her arm around him and brought him closer to a hug. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

After a few minutes of silence, John spoke up. "I tried to see her last few spells, but all of them were basic hexes, curses and charms," he remarked. Jane glanced at him a little confused and he continued. "I was hoping to find out how she managed to travel through time," he said.

"Oh," sighed Jane, disappointed. After a moment, she continued, "She had another wand," remarked Jane.

"Another wand?" asked John, confused. "Where did she get it?" he added.

Jane shook her head in response.

After a short while, the twins made their out of the isolated street. They had to first and foremost find out what time period they were at. In order to avoid suspicion, they decided not to ask anyone what year it was. Instead, they made their way to a nearby shop.

Even without knowing exactly what year it was, a few things were obvious. They were definitely still in the past, well before their house was constructed. Looking at the people around them, their mannerisms, attire and other simple stuff, they were able to deduce that it must only be a few years prior or post-1981.

The moment the twins entered the shop, their eyes fell on a stack of newspapers. Instantly, John and Jane picked up a newspaper each and almost immediately, their jaws fell to the ground.

"No, no, no..." cried John.

"No," gasped Jane, shocked.

"Are you two alright?" asked the shopkeeper, puzzled. He was sizing the twins up and down, for they looked like they had just run away from some kind of serious trouble.

"Yeah... yeah," replied John as he kept the newspaper back down instantly. Jane followed suit and the twins quickly made their way out of the muggle shop.

"1990?" exclaimed John, loudly. "We are in 1990, Jane," he yelled. "Why would she send us here?" he asked, shocked.

Jane looked too stunned to speak. "Are we stuck in 1990?" she asked.

The twins made it back to the lake. The moment they did, Jane spoke up.

"We can't stay here," sighed Jane, tiredly. "Let's check if that hut is occupied," she added.

"Yeah, let's go," agreed John in response.

The twins walked ahead for a couple of minutes before reaching the hut. It looked obviously abandoned in daylight.

"Quite oddly present, don't you think?" remarked John as he walked closer to the entrance.

"It's a bit away from the city, and there don't seem to be many residences nearby," replied Jane, suspiciously.

Jane took out her wand, but John gestured at her to put it away. "We are in the 90s, we can't be seen acting like magic exists," he whispered. "These were different times," he added.

John walked ahead and knocked on the door. However, the moment he knocked, the door seemed to fall back, leaving an empty home in sight.

The twins made their way in and sure enough, the hut was empty. Not just that, the hut looked badly out of shape, like it had been left abandoned for years and years. There were weeds and vines grown all over. The walls seem to have the plaster almost about to fall off. The one window that was present in the main room was broken. Part of the roof on the other side of the house had collapsed. Dust and dirt covered every single square inch of surface in sight. A damp and musty smell hit their nostrils almost instantly.

"Woah," gasped John.

"This is not just abandoned, this looks like it is about to crumble into pieces," chuckled Jane. However, John didn't seem to be in any state to see the funny side of it. He took out his wand and waved it at the floor. Jane took out her wand as well and immediately the dust started disappearing, and then the collapsed roof was corrected. John fixed the walls and the broken window. He walked inside to find the only other room, which had a cot in tatters and was in equally bad shape. After a couple of minutes, John came out of the room, after having fixed whatever he could set his eyes on. The main room also looked pretty decent, thanks to Jane.

John waved his wand once again, fashioned a big, sturdy bench from thin air and placed it in the middle of the hut.

Jane took a seat on the bench carefully. However, the moment her eyes fell on John walking away, her expression turned. "Hey, where are you going?" she asked.

"We won't survive another few hours without some medical supplies and food," replied John.

"We don't have any money, John, or have you not noticed that?" retorted Jane.

"That fact is not lost on me," replied John. "I'll see what I can steal," he added.

"Steal?" gasped Jane, surprised. "I'm not opposed to the idea. I'll come with you," she added.

"No, you should rest," said John.

"John," exclaimed Jane, surprised. "We are both badly injured, and we are in the past might I add? You shouldn't be doing anything alone," she said, strongly.

"I'll be fine," replied John. "Please stay here, take rest and stay safe," he reiterated.

For a moment, Jane remained silent. Just as John was about to leave, she got up from her seat. John paused and turned around. Jane walked up to him and grabbed him into a hug. "You are not responsible for this, got it?" she whispered as her eyes started glistening.

"I'm sorry," whispered back John, his voice choking, as he grabbed her tightly. The twins stayed that way for a good minute before they let go. "I'll be back in no time," he said and walked out of the hut.

John came back about an hour later carrying 2 big bags. And suddenly, the room smelled like fresh bread, baked pastry and food. In one bag, he had food enough for 2 meals for both of them, while in another he had brought medicines, cotton and other necessities to treat their wounds.

"Oh my God, John," shrieked Jane, with a big smile. "Did you rob an entire store?" she chuckled taking one of the bags from him.

"No, I robbed a bank," replied John as he sat down on the bench.

"What?" gasped Jane. And her expression only grew wider when she realised that John wasn't fooling around.

"We have enough medical supplies for a few days and food for a few hours," said John. "And we have the cash to sustain us in this muggle life for a good few months," he added, smiling for the first time.

"You are making quite the criminal, John Weasley," smiled Jane as she took out the pies that John had bought.

By the end of the day, the twins were feeling much better, if only physically. They had converted the hut into something a little bit more meaningful. In the process, they had even discovered a basement that neither of them had any interest in exploring further. Within a few days, the hut had turned into something of a home, a respectable if not complete version of it, enough to shelter them.

As days and weeks went by, the twins grew slowly accustomed to everything, the air they breathed in, the food, the muggles that they had to encounter, their disrupted lifestyle and everything else. However, their mood hadn't improved very much. While both of them put on a normal face to each other, deep down, both of them were devastated by where they found themselves, and what they had endured to get there. For obvious reasons, John was much more affected than Jane for he felt responsible for all that was happening to them. He was the one who asked Jane to accompany him. He wondered what would have happened if he had instead convinced her not to come with him. And in return, Jane spent many a moment convincing him that she would have accompanied him regardless. The twins also spent a significant time mourning the loss of their friend. They had just spent the past 5 years living in the same house as Lily, sharing with her their ups and downs and her sudden loss left a deep hole in both their hearts.

A few months had gone by and the twins had somewhat settled into their new reality. Their days went in exploring the city while their evenings went in peace and solitude. John liked to spend his evenings reading, sometimes even near the water. While Jane spent her evenings practising magic and watching the television. Once in a while, they would spend the evening talking with each other, late into the night. They were living a life without much purpose, doing very little productive. It was like they were waiting for a spark to reignite their lives.

And finally, one day, the universe conspired to nudge the twins back into action.

John and Jane were whiling away their time at the supermarket one afternoon, an establishment that was quite far away from their house, in a different city altogether. They were browsing an aisle when John's eyes fell on someone and he turned stiff instantly. Jane turned around and her eyes fell on the very person that John had noticed.

"Jane... That's..." began John.

"I can't believe it... Is that really Harry Potter?" she asked in response. A young Harry was roaming the supermarket alone. Only a few seconds later, they saw 2 other people approach Harry, a young boy and a woman.

"That... That's Dudley and Aunt Petunia," remarked John, excitedly. Jane was about to take a step towards them when John continued. "We can't talk to them, Jane," he said, urgently. And soon, the twins watched Harry, Dudley and Aunt Petunia leave the supermarket.

When John and Jane returned home that evening, there was only one topic that both of them wanted to address.

"I can't believe that we actually saw them today," remarked Jane, excitedly.

"We have talked about this so many times," gasped John, equally excited.

"We should have talked to them today, John," sighed Jane, with a disappointed look on her face.

"And what would you have talked to them about? We can't tell anyone who we are, Jane," replied John, with a dull expression.

After a while, John opened a bottle of wine, poured both of a glass and walked over to Jane's room.

"Hey, what's up?" asked Jane as she took the glass from him. John sat down beside her. "Are you still thinking about what happened earlier today?" she asked.

"Aren't you?" asked John, glancing at her. The expression on her face told him that she was too. "I was thinking..." began John but went silent.

Jane bumped shoulders with him. "I think both of us are wondering the same thing," she remarked.

"The year is 1991, which would make Harry 10 years old," said John.

"There's still a few months to go for him to turn 11," continued Jane as she stared at John.

"Why can't we involve ourselves in his life?" asked John.

"You know the reason, John," sighed Jane.

"But, we can be careful, right?" retorted John.

"John..." began Jane but remained frozen unsure what to say. "What will happen when he goes to Hogwarts when he becomes friends with Ron, our father?" she asked.

John went quiet in response. "Aren't we already breaking rules by being in this time? Why can't we break some more?" he retorted, exasperated.

"You want to break your own rules, brother?" smiled Jane in response.

"I know it is wrong, Jane. But how long are we going to stay in this time? How long are we going to live this life?" asked John.

Silence fell between the twins for a few minutes.

"Tell you what," began Jane, breaking the silence, after a long thought.

"Hmm?" responded John, gloomily.

"Let's shadow Harry," said Jane, confidently.

"What?" retorted John, confused.

"Let's not talk to anyone," replied Jane. "But we can always shadow Harry and see what he does in his life. Let's keep our eyes on Harry, Ron, Daisy, all of them," added Jane.

John stared at his sister with a look of shock and amazement. "Are you being serious right now?" he asked.

"You were right, John. What are we even doing here?" retorted Jane. "We have made it this far, let's see it through, perhaps we will catch a lucky break and figure out how to go back home," she replied, with a big smile on her face.

John started giggling in response. "You are supposed to be the responsible one, to keep me in check whenever I suggest ridiculous thoughts," he chuckled.

"Oh, brother dear... we both know that I'm the one with a dark side," chuckled Jane in reply.

"So, how do we do this, eh?" asked John, excitedly.

"Let's start simple," began Jane. "We both know where Dad lives, but we can't possibly snoop around the Burrow. We would be courting danger," she continued and John nodded in agreement. "We should hang out a bit, around Harry's house and see what happens. Let's get to know him as much as we can," she finished.

"And what about our mother? Surely, Jane, you still aren't ignoring her down to some petty grudge," remarked John.

"Come on, John..." scoffed Jane. "You know I would do anything to get another minute with her," she remarked, looking a little sad. "Let's start with Harry and see where we get," she added.

And the plan was decided.

In the following weeks, every once in a few days, John and Jane took turns in shadowing Harry, noting his every mannerism, and characteristic, everyone he met, played with, fought with, best friends with and so on. It gave the twins a bit of happiness to see how good a life Harry was leading. To their surprise, he seemed oblivious to magic, despite accidentally performing it once or twice. They weren't sure why Aunt Petunia had refrained from telling Harry about magic. Within the first few times they tailed Harry, they had encountered Daisy as well. One more thing that made the twins smile a little was how cute Harry, Dudley and Daisy's friendship looked.

As weeks went by, conversations between the twins almost always ended up being about Harry. They spent hours discussing everything they remembered from their childhood, every little story their parents had told them about when they were kids.

And then one fatal evening, John made the admission to his sister.

The twins were talking about Harry going to Hogwarts. "There's still a couple of months to Harry's birthday," sighed Jane.

"We have to protect Harry," remarked John after a few seconds of silence. Jane turned her head to glance at John, curiously. "We have to..." repeated John, strongly.

"John..." called Jane, suspiciously. "What do you have in mind?" she asked.

"I made a promise to her that I would protect Harry from Voldemort. And we both know that Harry is going to be in plenty of danger," replied John, calmly.

"John, we can't meddle in their lives. What if we do something and it changes the course of time? What if we do something catastrophic?" retorted Jane, mildly alarmed.

"We have already changed things, Jane, by being here. And I fully plan on changing the course of time if it means saving Harry from Voldemort," exclaimed John, confidently.

"Oh, Johnny boy... Calm down, will you? Think about what you are saying," sighed Jane as she got up and walked up to her brother to stand up close to his face. "Our actions could go very, very wrong. What if Ron and Daisy never meet and fall in love?" asked Jane, in a worried whisper.

"We'll be careful... We will stay away whenever we should," replied John. "And I know what you are going to say next," he continued quickly.

"What is that?" asked Jane, smiling.

"How would we get into Hogwarts?" asked John as Jane continued smiling and nodded in response. "I don't know... Maybe we don't need to be at Hogwarts, we can be nearby, at Hogsmeade, just keeping an eye on things," replied John, answering his question.

"John..." dragged Jane, perplexed. "There are way too many moving parts, variables that could go wrong. What would we even tell if someone asks us who we are?" she remarked.

"We will just have to lie through our teeth," chuckled John.

That evening, one more important decision was taken. In the weeks that the twins had been following Harry's every action, they had come across a house, a little far away from 4, Privet Drive, that was abandoned and looked perfect for them to move in. Within a matter of a week, the twins had moved much, much closer to Harry, in an attempt to get close to his life.

It was a warm afternoon. Just a few days back, Jane had been tailing Harry and she had seen an Owl drop off a letter to his house, a letter from Hogwarts. Since then, the twins had been planning how they would get closer to Harry while he was at Hogwarts.

In fact, they were right in the middle of one such discussion when something bizarre happened. Someone rang the bell to their house.

The moment the bell rang, John and Jane glanced at each other with panic in their eyes. "Wands out," whispered Jane and took out her wand instantly.

John took out his wand but kept it hidden behind his back as he gestured for Jane to stay back and cover him if needed. Cautiously, he got up and walked up to the door slowly.

Right when he was about to open the door, the doorbell rang once again.

Taking a deep breath, John carefully and slowly opened the door. And in front of him was an elderly woman, but dressed funnily, like a witch who didn't know muggles dressed.

"Yes?" asked John, nervously, the door only partially open.

"Hello, Good Afternoon," greeted the woman.

John stared at her nervously.

"I am Professor McGonagall," introduced McGonagall, stoically. "This is where John Smith lives, isn't it?" she asked.

"Professor McGonagall?" gasped John, shocked. He hadn't quite registered anything else she had said.

"Yes, may I come in? I have something important to discuss," said McGonagall, calmly. Jane, who had also heard McGonagall's voice had walked up to the door by then. John glanced at Jane quickly, and the twins shared a shocked expression.

Finally, after a few seconds, John replied, "Yes, please come in," he said.

Professor McGonagall walked into the house. Soon, all of them were comfortably seated, however, John and Jane weren't anywhere near comfortable.

McGonagall was also quite taken aback by the welcome she had received from the twins. For one, both of them looked like they had just been visited by death. And for another, they didn't look anywhere near old enough to be parents of an 11-year-old. However, putting on a stoic appearance, she spoke up. "How are you, hope I haven't come at the wrong time," greeted McGonagall, and gave a brief smile.

"Uh... I... No, no, this is not the wrong time," replied Jane.

"I am Professor McGonagall from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," introduced McGonagall.

"Hello, Professor," greeted Jane, absent-mindedly.

"Hello," greeted John, in shock.

McGonagall contemplated her next words silently for a couple of moments. Finally, she spoke up, "I am sorry, but are you John Smith's parents?" she asked.

The twins glanced at each other confused and alarmed.

"John Smith?" asked John, hesitantly.

"Yes, John Smith," replied McGonagall.

"No, there isn't any John Smith here," replied Jane.

"Oh, okay... I thought I had the right address," sighed McGonagall. There was a brief silence. In that silence, McGonagall was about to get up from the seat and walk away. However, she sensed something and decided to stay put. "Both of you have magic in your blood, don't you?" she asked, cautiously and curiously, after a few seconds.

Once again, the twins shared a shocked glance at each other.

"How did you find us?" asked Jane.

"It was quite difficult. The Ministry had no records of a John Smith. But the Owls are clever, they found this house," replied McGonagall. "Who are you?" she asked, strongly.

"He is a wizard and I am a witch, we have come here from far away," replied Jane.

McGonagall wasn't sure what spurred her to do it, but out of a mixture of caution and alarm, she pulled out her wand and pointed it at Jane. And almost instantly, Jane had her wand pointed at McGonagall.

"Who are you, really? And don't lie to me," threatened McGonagall. "You two are the most frightened, suspicious people I have seen. Who are you and what are you so afraid of?" she questioned.

John stared at the women, alarmed about what might happen next.

"Answer me, or I'll have the Aurors here in no time," threatened McGonagall.

John stared at Jane, a little worried. However, Jane had her wand steadily pointed at McGonagall.

"Hey... Let's take a chill pill, shall we?" whispered John, looking at Jane as he patted her shoulder. "This is Professor McGonagall," he reiterated, in awe.

Jane glanced at him and after a moment, dropped her wand.

"We didn't quite expect to see you here, Professor," replied Jane, calmly.

"Professor, please put down your wand and take a seat," said John.

McGonagall stared at the twins, put down her wand and sat down. However, she still held onto the wand tightly.

"Thank you," greeted John. "My name is John, and this is my sister, Jane," he introduced. Confusion started spreading inside McGonagall. "Yes, we have magic in our blood, and we are from far away," added John. "And there is no one named John Smith here," he finished.

"Your name is John?" asked McGonagall. "What's your full name?" she asked.

"I'm afraid we can't tell you that," replied Jane.

McGonagall stared at the twins, exasperated. It had been quite the bizarre past few days for her.

"Why are you here, Professor? Who sent you here?" asked John, calmly.

"I'm on official Hogwarts business," replied McGonagall.

"Official Hogwarts business?" repeated John, confused. After a moment, he glanced at Jane. The twins were thinking the same thing.

"And what business would that be?" asked Jane, sternly.

John glared at his sister momentarily before glancing at McGonagall. "Apologies for the rudeness, Professor. We were just wondering if you could tell us more," he said.

McGonagall remained silent for a few seconds. After thinking it through, she spoke up. "We have received information that there is a student who resides in this household who is eligible to be admitted to Hogwarts," she announced.

Not for the last time that afternoon, the twins glanced at each other, perplexed.

"Who gave you this information?" asked John, calmly.

"The Book of Admittance," replied McGonagall.

"What?" gasped John, shocked.

"What are you talking about?" asked Jane, stunned.

"But we have no record of any muggleborn or otherwise who comes of age this year, with the name John Smith," continued McGonagall. "And now I find you two," she added. "Something is not adding up, and if you don't tell me the truth, you will be in a lot of trouble," she said, strongly.

The twins glanced at each other, growing increasingly worried with every second.

"We can't tell you the truth," replied John hastily just as he watched Professor McGonagall getting up to leave.

"Then you can tell it to the Ministry of Magic," retorted McGonagall.

"Professor, please," exclaimed John. But McGonagall didn't seem to be listening. Instead, she made her way for the exit. "Professor, can you please stay for a little longer? My sister and I need to talk about this," pleaded John.

"I don't have all the time in the world. If you have something to say, I'll come back tomorrow, and we can discuss then," replied McGonagall, coldly.

Hastily, John glanced at Jane and then back at McGonagall. "We are related to the Weasleys," he said and immediately, McGonagall came to a halt.

She had a confused expression on her face. "What?" she asked.

"Professor, please take a seat and give us some time," pleaded John.

John's play seemed to have convinced McGonagall enough to reconsider her decision.

John went to his room and Jane followed. The twins were inside for some 10-15 minutes before they came out. Fortunately for them, McGonagall was waiting for them in the main room.

"Whatever it is, be quick about it. I really don't have all the time in the word," exclaimed McGonagall, a little annoyed. "How are you related to the Weasleys?" she asked.

"We accidentally ended up here," began John. "And we got stuck, we can't go back," he continued.

McGonagall stared at them, even more perplexed. Just at that moment, Jane took out her wand and waved it around. McGonagall looked around for she could sense that their conversation could no longer be heard by anyone outside the room.

"Whatever we tell you here, today, you cannot tell anyone else," exclaimed Jane.

"Please," added John. "You can't tell Professor Dumbledore, or the Ministry, or anyone," he added.

"I'm not making any promises," retorted McGonagall.

John took a deep breath and glanced at Jane. "My name... My full name is John... Weasley," he announced.

"And I am Jane Weasley," said Jane, cautiously.

McGonagall stared at them.

"We are Ronald Weasley's children," continued Jane.

"Ronald Weasley?" asked McGonagall, confused. And then her face grew bigger. "What are you saying?" she asked, a gleam in her eye.

"Professor, please promise us that what we tell you, won't go out of this room," pleaded John.

"If anyone finds out who we are, it'll be catastrophic," added Jane.

After some consideration, McGonagall replied, "If I deem your identities truly important, I give you my word, I'll keep this conversation to myself," she said. Her expression had turned. It seemed like she had already started believing everything the twins were going to tell her.

Jane nodded at John in response to McGonagall's promise. And thus began the story. The twins started from the beginning and told McGonagall everything about themselves, about Lily, how they fought Voldemort on that fateful night, everything. With every line the twins uttered, McGonagall's expression grew wider and wider. She could hardly fathom what she was hearing.

And finally, John ended it by saying, "Are you telling us that the Book of Admittance spelt out my name?" he asked.

McGonagall nodded in response, for she was rendered speechless.

"This can't be a coincidence, right?" asked John as he glanced at Jane for support. However, she didn't quite know how to respond. "I didn't get the letter from Hogwarts when I was a kid. But I get one now," he remarked.

"John... But the Book said John Smith, not John Weasley," replied Jane.

"Maybe that's the name I should take. I mean, if I were to go to Hogwarts, I can't be John Weasley, can I?" retorted John.

Silence fell in the room. After a couple of minutes, McGonagall got up from her seat. "We will meet again, John and Jane, but I must leave now," she said.

"Professor, is our secret safe?" asked John.

"Yes," replied McGonagall, nodding her head. And with that, she left the house. Right before she left, she kept the letter on the table, the letter that invited John Smith to join Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

The moment McGonagall left, John turned towards Jane, an irreplaceable glee on his face. However, Jane didn't share the same enthusiasm.

"This is perfect," exclaimed John, happily.

"Have you completely lost it?" retorted Jane, angrily.

John stared at Jane, taken aback. "Why are you angry?" he asked.

"I know exactly what you are thinking, and that is the most insane idea you have had. And I cannot agree to it," exclaimed Jane, angrily.

"But, Jane... Doesn't this feel like the Universe is giving us an opportunity? We wouldn't get a better opportunity to get close to Harry. I would transform myself and be an 11-year-old at Hogwarts," remarked John, confidently. "I can be close to Harry, and be your eyes and ears. You can be out here, this is perfect," he added.

"No... I am sorry, but no... I cannot allow you to do this to yourself. It is an insanely painful ritual. Not to mention the dangerous side-effects that neither of us understand," argued Jane.

"Jane..." began John but got interrupted.

"And don't give me this... Universe handing opportunity bullshit! That is actually a very good reason to say no. This has danger written all over it," continued Jane. "How did the Book know that we'd be here? We are time travellers, John. Nobody knows we exist in this time, except us," she added.

"The Book of Admittance is a legendary artefact that has been functioning from Day 1 of Hogwarts. Surely it is not an unfathomable idea that it can sense time travel. It is like what Dad used to say. Hogwarts wants us to fight and help will be provided for those who need it," remarked John.

"Don't you dare..." exclaimed Jane, angrily.

"I'm sorry," apologised John, immediately. "Let's think about it for a few days, please?" he asked.

A few days did go by, and the emotions settled down, but Jane remained unconvinced of John's idea. It was only when Professor McGonagall came back to visit the twins and accepted John's terms that she went along with it.

And so, it was decided. John was going to transform himself into a younger 11-year-old and join the rest of the first years at Hogwarts.

It was a few days before John was going to board the Hogwarts Express. Later that evening, the twins were going to perform the ritual. However, when Jane woke up that morning, John was nowhere to be found. He had seemingly disappeared without a word. A first for him since they had been stuck in the 90s.

A couple of hours went by, and then, finally, John came back.

"Hey, where did you disappear to?" asked Jane, the moment he entered. John smiled in response and without uttering a word, he handed Jane a box. "What is this?" asked Jane, surprised.

"Just something I thought we should have," replied John, eagerly staring at Jane to open the box. She made quick work of the cover and opened the box curiously.

…

{… Present …}

"Mirror," came a voice that woke Harry up. He lifted his head and stared at the bed. To his surprise, Jane was awake, her eyes slightly open.

"Jane," called Harry, his eyes wide open, now. "You are awake," he gasped, surprised.

"Harry," replied Jane, however, her voice was quite strained and feeble.

"Let me get the Practitioners," he remarked and got up.

Almost immediately, the Practitioners arrived and started checking Jane's vitals. She was given another heavy dose of medicine and had fallen unconscious. It was only a day later that she woke up once again, this time, in much better possession of her marbles.

"Did we get the Horcrux?" asked Jane, her first words after waking up, glancing at Harry.

"How are you feeling?" asked Harry in return.

"Like someone took my insides out, crushed and squeezed it, and kept it back," replied Jane, chuckling. After a pause, she repeated her question, "Did we get the Horcrux, Harry?" she asked.

Harry shook his head in response. "But we know where to find the locket," he replied.

The expression on Jane's face dropped. "I severely underestimated him," she sulked.

"It's not your fault, Jane... Even the Practitioners got it wrong, the Horcrux wasn't there at all," replied Harry, consolingly. Jane glanced at him, perplexed. "Somebody got to the locket much before we did, and they replaced the real Horcrux with a fake one," continued Harry. "All the Practitioners sense at the Crystal Cave were remnants of a Horcrux that had been hidden there long back," he added.

The shock was written all over Jane's face.

"I went under the ritual once again, and now we know for sure where to find the Horcrux," remarked Harry, though not very excitedly.

"You did?" asked Jane, with wide eyes. "You should not have done it alone..." she exclaimed.

"I had to find out where the locket is hidden," sighed Harry in response. "And you are not going to like it," he added, sulking.

"Why? Where is it hidden?" asked Jane, sitting up straight.

"12, Grimmauld Place," replied Harry.

"What?" gasped Jane. "The Horcrux is with the Order?" she asked.

Harry nodded dully.

After a while, Harry went to his room and came back with Jane's wand, both of them.

"Here, these are your wands," said Harry as he kept her wands on the table beside her. Jane picked up the Elder wand and stared at it longingly.

There was a sudden silence in the room. After a short while, Harry glanced at Jane curiously.

"The Practitioners were telling me that you had gone into... some kind of... self-induced... trance?" asked Harry, awkwardly, breaking the silence.

Jane stared at Harry, a little confused. After a moment, a realization appeared on her face. "Woah! I didn't realise that I... had done that," remarked Jane. "Wow, it makes so much sense now," she added.

It was Harry's turn to be confused now. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"When I woke up, it didn't feel like I woke up. I felt so tired, mentally... I felt drained," replied Jane.

"So, can you just go into a different world whenever you want?" asked Harry, curiously.

"Uh... that's not quite how it works generally. This time around, I don't think I was voluntarily controlling it. But, yeah, all the times I have done in it in the past, have only been for a few minutes, and I was in control," replied Jane.

After a few minutes of silence, Harry spoke up. "So, what were you dreaming about?" he asked.

Jane heaved a sigh. "John," she replied after a moment. "I guess, he was the only one on my mind when You-know-who's poison started taking over me," she added.

"I'm sorry," sighed Harry, apologetically.

"You have nothing to apologise for, Harry," grinned Jane in reply.

After a few seconds, Harry asked, "Do you ever regret all the killings you have done in getting the Elder wand, in search of the Hallows?"

Jane stared at Harry for a moment. "I have always seen myself as a monster, Harry. And John never saw me as one... And then he was killed," she exclaimed. After a pause, she continued, "So, no... I don't regret anything I have done to avenge my brother," she replied, coldly. Harry turned away, a little disappointed. And then he heard Jane chuckle and glanced back at her. "It is actually funny... Had I never travelled back to the 90s, I would have never known about the Hallows," remarked Jane. Harry stared at her a little confused. Jane continued, "But, I would have been the owner of the Elder wand, simply through inheritance," she chuckled.

"What?" asked Harry, confused.

"Yeah... This is the wand my Dad had... I mean, Ron had," replied Jane. "All my life, I saw him work, this is the wand I saw him work with, and he never told us about it," she added.

Harry stared at her shocked.

"So, if I had never travelled back to the 90s, I would have eventually owned the Elder wand without any bloodshed," remarked Jane.

Hope you enjoyed this one... I'm in the mood for some Q&A, so if any of you want to discuss something, have some questions, or just would like me to talk about someone or something, shout out.

PS - The next chapter will be out in a week. Ciao!