1995
"Oh Peter, I'm oh so lonely. Will you come entertain me?"
Standing guard outside of her room, Peter felt his bones stiffen at the voice, remembering what had happened only days ago.
"Peter. Please?" The voice called out in a seductive tone. Hearing this, he clenched his eyes shut, willing himself to ignore her. "S-stop." Peter whimpered out, but she heard the hesitation in his voice. She had him.
"Peter, come here. Please. I want you."
His eyes widened at that, and suddenly, he didn't want to fight anymore. As long as he was quick, nobody would know. Right?
"Fine, you minx, but this is the last time." Peter said excitedly, walking around the corner towards the cell door. Peering in, he could see her laying on the bed, pointing a dainty finger at him.
Fumbling in his pockets for the key, he finally found it. Sliding it into the key slot, he began to turn the knob when his body burst into flames.
"Crucio." The dark lord said, suddenly standing behind Pettigrew. Peter crumbled to the floor at the pain and began shouting out bloody murder. Silencing him, Voldemort turned to look into the cell. Rolling her eyes, she crawled under her covers and faced away from him. Her plan foiled, she didn't want to give him the satisfaction of reprimanding her.
"What was your plan this time?" He said in a whisper, his voice carrying into her ears. But she didn't move, enraging the dark lord.
"I DO NOT CARE WHO YOU ARE! DO IT AGAIN AND I WILL RIP YOUR PATHETIC BODY TO SHREDS!" He shouted, his voice shaking the manor's walls. But the outburst caused no reaction. Her body laying completely still and silent. Taking another step forward, Voldemort willed the cell door to open, walking right through it.
As he walked slowly to the bed, she felt as if every step could be heard throughout the manor. Feeling the power radiating off of her father, she willed herself to not move. To not show him weakness.
"Do it again and you will never see your mother, child." Voldemort whispered, bending down to say it right into her ear. Hearing his jagged, slithery voice so close, she couldn't help but to shake.
Chuckling in her ear at her actions, he stood again. Looking around at the bedroom, Voldemort decided that she'd maybe need a bit more convincing. In an instant, all of her possession's burned. Old toys from the orphanage, posters on the walls of movies she wanted to see one day, all of her clothes, and her desk, laced with unsent letters.
Everything burnt to ash.
Taking a deep smell of the smoke, Voldemort chuckled. Glancing back down at the girl, who still wouldn't look, he figured he'd done enough. Walking out of the bedroom, he willed the door to shut and lock behind him. Looking down at the shaking, silently screaming pathetic man, he levitated the body and left down the hall.
He would need to punish Pettigrew harder this time.
Back in the room, she still laid almost completely still. Only her shoulders shaking as she cried.
Same Time
"So what film do we want to watch?" Hermione's mum asked, holding up a box of VHS's.
Since being the only two raised by muggles, Hermione and Harry began sorting through the box after her mum placed it on the coffee table. The other's made a circle around the box, grabbing some and reading the titles.
"This dragon looks funny, it's only their bones." Luna said, holding up a copy of 'Jurassic Park.'
"On man, that movie is fantastic!" Mr. Granger said, quickly setting his cup of tea down and rushing over excitedly. "They aren't dragons, Luna. Instead, they are called 'Dinosaurs.' They went extinct over-."
"Daniel. They didn't leave school only to be subject to another lecture." Mrs. Granger chided, sitting comfortably on a soda.
"Oh no it's okay Emma, I love all creatures. If I want to live my life searching for all of them, then I must learn about all of them. Even these 'Dinosaurs'." Luna said earnestly, causing Mrs. Granger to nod her head in approval with a smile and Mr. Granger to laugh out loud, before continuing on with the history of dinosaurs.
"Wow, look at the cover of that!" Neville exclaimed, leaning over to show Ron and Harry another VHS.
"Star Wars?" Ron read out, taking the VHS from Neville. As Ron and Harry looked over it, Neville dug back into the box.
"Hey there's more!" He said excitedly, hoisting two more 'Star Wars' movies into the air.
"It's a trilogy, Dad is obsessed with them." Hermione explained, not looking up from the two she was currently holding. She was trying to decide between 'Beauty and the Beast' or 'The Nightmare Before Christmas.'
Taking a pause from picking a movie, Harry looked around. Mr. Granger and Luna were heavily discussing dinosaurs, with Luna asking very serious questions about their diet and habitat, and Daniel answering back very seriously. Ron and Neville were still ogling the cover of the first Star Wars movie, with a very interested Sirius coming over to check as well. But directly in front of him, stood Hermione, discussing both of her movie choices with her mum.
Seeing her, and being reminded of the planning to organize this, Harry felt an immediate surge of appreciation and respect and care for his best friend. But he also noticed something more.
'Her hair look's really good today, has it always looked like that? I remember it at the ball, but this time it looks way better. I wonder how it smells? Oh shit, she's looking at me. Am I staring?' Harry thought to himself, quickly looking back down at the movies he held, avoiding her gaze.
"OI! REMUS YOU BIG LUMP! COME OVER 'ERE AND PICK ONE!" Sirius shouted out, attracting the attention of everyone in the room.
Placing his cup of tea softly down onto the counter, Remus stood from his chair and walked over the children. Looking over all of the choices they'd chosen, he decided on one.
"I've only heard good things about the Star Wars trilogy, Darth Vader is considered a top villain in cinema and the cinematography should be top notch. Good pick Neville." Remus said, placing a hand on a beaming Neville's shoulders.
"Would we have enough time to watch the first one, and then one of those?" Harry asked, pointing to the VHS's Hermione held.
"I don't see why not? You kids have to be ready by nine right?" Daniel Granger asked, receiving a chorus of nods.
"Alright, then lets DO THIS THING!" Sirius shouted out, pumping his hand into the air.
Later
The Granger home was a mess.
Bowls spilling out old popcorn laid all over the floor, empty soda cans were crushed and filled the trash cans. Two broom handles were broken after Sirius and Daniel had an epic lightsaber duel. Followed shortly after by Neville and Ron… then Harry and Luna.
The sun had gone down by that time, and it was a quarter to nine. Mcgonagall would arrive soon to return them back to Hogwarts. Exhausted from the afternoon of fun, the teens were all ready to head back. Everyone except Harry, who was currently sitting on the back porch, staring into the sky, alone. As he sat, he pondered on the day he's had, and why it meant so much to him.
Hogwarts. His home away from the Dursleys. His life. When the letters first arrived, Harry was ecstatic to leave his 'family' behind. His old life. He entered a whole new world! A world where he was famous! He had no need for money, or worry about where he could find his next meal. It was literally magic!
But now he felt a fool.
Instead of being tortured by the Dursley's, it was the professors and Voldemort who now made his life hell.
Sure he didn't go hungry anymore, but how many people has he seen been killed. When told about what he truly was, he thought his life had been saved. Instead, he was essentially being shown he would be killed in this life rather than his old one.
It was only a matter of when.
Everyone dies. His parents. Cedric.
All because of him.
'I hate halloween.'
The door opening brought Harry out of his thoughts, causing him to look at who had joined him. Shutting the door behind them silently, Sirius and Remus both shushed each other as they approached Harry.
Seeing this, a confused Harry opened his mouth to question them but was met with his own shush. Walking past him, Sirius motioned for Harry to follow them as they walked over to a secluded spot next to the Daniels tiny wooden shed.
Still confused, Harry stood from his spot and cautiously followed the pair. Making it to the side of the shed, hidden from view of the home, Sirius checked once again for anyone before nodding his head to Remus. Seeing the nod, Remus grabbed his wallet from his back pocket and opened it. Digging fist deep into the tiny wallet, Remus's hand emerged after a short moment. Clenched in his fist was a chain, long enough to fit around all three of their necks if they stood close enough to each other.
But what was hanging from the chain was what caught Harry's interest.
"A time turner?!" Harry whispered frantically, looking at both of his uncles, but being met with two quick shushes.
Mouthing 'later' to Harry, Sirius took a hold of the chain and looped it over his neck, then doing the same to Harry. Making sure they were good, Remus grabbed the corner and put it over his neck as well, now standing in a tight circle with the other two.
Grabbing the miniature hour glass in the center, Remus began flipping it, turning back time.
Mentally counting the flips, Harry counted five when Remus stopped. Satisfied, Remus grabbed the chain and took it off his neck, followed by Sirius doing the same. Taking it off last, Harry was amazed at his surroundings and stared up at the sky.
What had just been a dark starry night, had now turned into a lovely bright day. Completely different to the weather he had ran in this morning back in Scotland.
"Ready Harry?" Sirius whispered, interrupting Harry's thought. Looking back down from the sky, he looked at Sirius and nodded.
Feeling Sirius grab a hold of him, Harry regretted his decision the moment he felt the tight sensation of apparition. Squeezing his eyes shut, Harry felt the urge to scream bubbling to the surface in an instant before the feeling flashed away and he was back on solid ground.
Catching his breath, Harry looked around and took in his surroundings. He quickly found it to be extremely familiar, since he had spent some of his summer here. They had just arrived back in time to Number Twelve Grimmauld Place.
Opening his mouth to ask why they were there, Harry stopped when he saw the duo walking quickly to the front door.. Confused but excited, Harry followed Sirius and Remus into the empty home.
Walking into the house, Harry was amazed when Sirius marched up to the open portrait of his mother, who was currently shouting at him, and cast a simple charm, opening the entire stone wall behind her like a door, revealing a staircase. Walking past his mother without a glance, Sirius motioned for the Harry and Remus to follow. Following their lead, Harry began the trek downstairs with the wall closing behind him. Before it slid into place, Harry could still hear the Black matron screaming about defiling her home, before the wall shut, and the stairway filled with silence.
"Why are we here? Harry asked, breaking the silence as he followed his uncles down the stairs into the hidden basement.
Ever since leaving the Granger home, Sirius and Remus had not spoken a word to Harry, only leading him deeper into the home. Matching their steps with his own, Harry quickly followed the duo until Sirius, who was leading the tiny group, stopped at the bottom of the stairs. In front of him stood a normal wooden door, but carved alongside the edges of door were runes. Each different than the other. Looking over them, Harry could only identify a couple of the runes, since he only had Hermione's and the twin's old textbooks to learn from.
Harry could identify a silencing rune, so no sound could pass through this door, a unbreaking rune, a healing rune, and a time rune.
Seeing Harry studying the symbols, especially the final one, Remus chimed in. "An invention by non other than Rowena Ravenclaw. It's believed she invented it so she could spend more time reading, learning. It's mostly forgotten now, but it is still used by herbologist's around the world."
"How does it work?" Harry asked.
"Roughly every ten minutes we spend in there, only a single minute passes out here. Give or take a few seconds." Remus explained. Satisfied, but still curious, Harry made a mental note to research it later.
"What about the others?" Harry asked, not knowing what the other dozen runes were for. Remus clicked his tongue at that.
"That is for us to know, and for you to learn." Remus said, giving Harry a pat on his back. Sensing the conversation was done, Sirius began running his hand over the door while repeating a chant softly in a unrecognizable language. As he did so, the runes on the door began glowing a bright blue, as if coming to life. After only a short moment, Sirius finished the chant and lowered his hand, causing the runes light to fade away, returning the door to it's dull state.
Nodding his head, Sirius withdrew his wand from his holster and tapped it on the door, whispering a soft, "Alohomora" and unlocking the door.
Opening it, Harry followed behind as they entered into a stone room. The first thing Harry noticed was that the runes on the door were in here also, being engraved into every single stone along the walls and roof. The room was as large as a classroom would've been. There was no furniture, but on the opposite side of the room than them, stood a exact copy of the door they had just entered. Laced with all of the same runes.
Walking further into the room, Sirius did a grandiose spin with his arms stretched out.
"Welcome to the War Room."
Later
"BOMBARDA!"
"Protego." Remus calmly cast, raising a magical shield to block Harry's spell from hitting him. For the past hour inside the room, the pair have been practicing Harry's dueling ability. Something Harry thought that he'd be extremely good at.
He was wrong.
"This is useless! I'm not gonna learn anything if you just keep blocking everything! Every time you cast, you whisper! How am I meant to learn spells, or the movements of them if I can't hear you!" Harry ranted, clenching his wand angrily in his right hand.
Dropping his wand arm, Remus sighed. "You said so yourself Harry, you can't beat Voldemort by learning spells in a classroom. You need experience. Now we are giving it to you."
"But…"
"Nothing, Harry. But nothing. Now, again." Remus instructed, raising his wand arm again. Huffing angrily, Harry shook his head and began raising his wand again, thinking of what spell he'd cast first.
"Stupefy." Harry said, aiming towards Remus's chest. Remus, seeing the red curse fly towards him, waited until the last possible moment before ducking, letting the spell fly right over him. Quickly standing back up, Remus began walking forward with his wand out, pointed at Harry. Silently casting, Remus began on the offense, sending spell after spell at the now panicking boy.
Surprised at the new turn of events, Harry's eyes widened as he quickly cast a shield, blocking himself. The first spell bounced off, hitting a wall to Harry's left, but the second one clashing onto the shield caused Harry to stumble, now barely holding up the shield.
"Come on pup!" Sirius yelled from the side of the room, clapping his hands in encouragement. "Moony's spent the past hour teaching you when and where to cast a spell. Use that information, make judgements, and beat him!"
Spell after spell, Remus kept on the attack, not letting Harry have a moment to let go of his shield. Listening to Sirius's words, Harry knew he couldn't let him down. Because if he did, than what was the point of all this.
"Come on Harry, do something." He whispered to himself, still holding up the shield. He could see Remus approaching, mouthing the words and doing the motions of the spells. Timing it, Harry waited until Remus was only about a meter away, and had just finished casting his latest spell, before surprisingly canceling his shield and rolling to his left.
Surprised, Remus had little time to aim and cast another spell before Harry went on the attack, loudly casting back-to-back stunner's. Feeling the first, then second one hit his shield, Remus quickly dropped his shield to counterattack, but a unexpected third spell hit his chest and his world went completely dark.
"YES! HAHA! I DID IT!" Harry exclaimed, jumping in joy. Sirius clapped his hands in congratulations, and revived his downed friend.
"He got me?" Remus asked in disbelief, looking at the roof.
"Yes I did." Harry laughed, offering his hand. Taking it, Harry helped Remus up and back to his feet.
"You cast silently?" Remus said in amazement, being met with a proud nod from Harry, before laughing to himself.
"Good job pup." Remus congratulated, patting Harry on the back before walking over to the door to the next room over.
"What do you think?" Harry asked Sirius, walking over to him. Sirius nodded his head and replied, "Well Moony is no Voldemort, but it's a start. We still have a lot of work to do though."
"I know. How often are we gonna work here?" Harry asked, downing a pick-me up potion offered by Remus, who had returned during the conversation.
"Everyday possible. Once Moony here gets some more time turners for us, and we figure out how to get you from Hogwarts to here, we train for every minute possible. First, we'll spend hours inside of the chamber training you physically. You need to be fast and strong if you want to have a shot at beating ol' Voldie. Then, we will eat some food, then begin the other training. Reading. Voldemort has decades of knowledge on us. Any extra knowledge to close the gap is worth it. The Black library is filled to the brim with books the ministry doesn't want you to read. So those are the one's that we are gonna start with."
"Huh, sounds like we're gonna be busy." Harry half-heartily joked.
"No times for jokes pup. War is coming, and by fates ugly hands you were chosen to be right at the front of it. So now we gotta do whatever we can to make sure you make it out the other side alive, but you are gonna need to give us all of your effort. Okay?" Sirius asked seriously, holding both of Harry's shoulders in his hands.
Looking into the worried eyes of his godfather, Harry knew playtime was over. Now was war.
"Okay." Harry replied.