hogwartsexpressed | CLOSED: The WORST Double Date to Date (for: coreofdragonheart)

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CLOSED: The WORST Double Date to Date (for: coreofdragonheart)

Harry walked into the private dining room that Hermione had requested for their use that evening. He took a moment to search and take down any eavesdropping instruments he could locate and knew Hermione would or had done the same already. He didn't want this to get out to the public if they could at all help it. He had spent most of the day putting his Aurors through their paces and had perhaps had been a bit too hard on them but honestly, it wasn't any worse than what they could possibly face outside the walls of the Ministry. It was at that time that he regretted, again, that he hadn't sought further education and training from the ICW.

Once he was content knowing he'd taken down anything that could listen in on them, he cast his own set of privacy charms around the room that would allow their guests and waiter/waitress to enter but would not be able to listen in. He turned to look at Hermione and gave her a smile. Spending the evening talking with her and having dinner had probably been one of the best nights he's had in a long time. It had infuriated him to know Ron had been an even bigger arse in regard to Hermione's parents after the war. What gave him the right?

"Are you ready," he asked, walking over to her and watching her face closely.

He'd taken the potion already today and was glad that his intelligent and beautiful best friend had found something that would work. Harry loathed that they'd been treated this way after all they'd done for the Weasley family.

Ginny would be getting off work momentarily and getting cleaned up before she made her way to the restaurant. Ron... well he didn't give a rats arse. He was looking forward to knowing just how much the man knew.

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She considers that, shaking her head. "You're right. He won't know then. She wouldn't do it. She has no way to believe my tonic spell would have done something else entirely, such as making it so that we remembered now ourselves. Like we're thirty in our eleven year old bodies. She couldn't have thought that would happen, or what would have been the point of it?"

Which again is there only defense in this. They have their memories and they know the one thing they hadn't known before. They're fighting more than one war at Hogwarts.

Her lip curls. "They're too stupid to fight their own wars. They'll do what they're told. Though we could, once we have him on our side, see if he could guide them to do what we need them to," she points out. "If they're eager to gain his favor because of his father,' she points out, and she knows that it is a possibility.

"Yes, lets avoid it. One, we should keep him from bringing in the troll. I think that would be a start. And get Fluffy on out side early."

Harry nodded in agreement with her assumption. "I bet she counted on us not knowing and simply following along with her plan like we did the first time around," he agreed and watched her with a little smile. He was very thankful that if they had to be thrown in the past that it was together and that they had their memories. It gave them a leg up and one he was going to take full advantage of.

He chuckled and sent her an amused smirk. "They will. I think one of them doesn't even want to fight in this war. The other... he probably does if only to prove to his Father that he isn't just a henchman. Depending on how the sorting goes, we can go from there."

"Absolutely," he said and took out a piece of parchment so he could start on a separate list of everything they wanted to accomplish. "Hagrid," he said suddenly, looking over at her. "What do we do about him?" He had fond memories of Hagrid but... the man was very loyal to Dumbledore and honestly, at this moment, he wasn't sure he could trust him.

"We were so busy watching out for others like Voldemort and the Death Eaters, and realizing that Dumbledore was never truly on our side, that we never thought to look for someone else working against us," she says with a sigh, leaning back against the seats with a grumpy sound. She's back in her eleven year old body but she feels older than her years before that. Too many lifetimes already lived and now about to relive this one.

"They're like Draco," she says, nodding. "They're doing this because they think it's the only chance they have, not because they want to do this. What other options did they have being raised the way they were? Maybe if we can give them another choice, they'll take it. We can hope," she says in a low voice, shaking her head.

Hermione winces, her expression pained. "We can't trust him," she says in a low voice. "Once Dumbledore learns we're off course, he'll use people like Hagrid to lure us back in and Hagrid will think he's helping us, because that's what Dumbledore tells him. We'll have to be careful."

"Growing up with the Dursley's you'd think I'd be used to people like her but...," he paused, considering his words before continuing. "But, I think that's why Dumbledore pushed them onto my path so that i'd be willing to overlook that because I'd be too grateful. Not this time." Harry was exhausted but he continued to write down everything they'd discussed before (starting with their sorting) and things they definitely had to consider now that they were faced with the reality of being back at the beginning. He too felt much older than his years before and now, reliving some of the more trying times of his life... well, he wasn't going to be their martyr this time. They'd be doing this by their own rules if he had anything to say about it.

"Exactly," he agreed with a nod. "We'll give them the choice and a chance at something different, like we will with Neville and others... but it's up to them if they take it." He won't force it onto anyone like Voldemort did.

Harry nodded. "You took the words right out of my mouth," he agreed. "Out of everyone at Hogwarts, we'll have to be the most careful with him. Dumbledore and Ron will be simpler to anticipate because their motives are their own. Hagrid... will do what Dumbledore tells him because he owes the most gratitude to him."

Harry paused and exhaled a breath.

"We may also need to try and reach out to Remus as well and beat Dumbledore to the punch." It did hurt to talk about this one but it needed to be said and if he was wrong, then great. "Like Hagrid, I think Remus feels a tremendous loyalty to Dumbledore for allowing a werewolf to be at the school and so he will go along with Dumbledore's plans even if they're not correct." Or what his parents would want for their son.

"But they were obvious and loud and she wasn't. She was sweet and helpful and friendly. She's well looked upon by any but the purebloods. She wasn't a threat in the way we've seen with anyone. It's why we never considered she was another threat in our life."

And that's the thing. They had so many threats presented to them that they never stopped to think about how many others there might be. Especially when her goal was love and marriage and not killing them and destroying them.

"What do you think we can do to try and make them believe us? I mean, I'm a muggle born and while you're Harry Potter, the boy that lived, what do you think we can use to get them to believe us?"

She's thinking about things they could know, could show them, to make them believe. She pauses and then adds. "What about McGonnagal? Do you think she would be on our side?"

Because having a teacher on their side would help, though she nods at Remus.

"We should contact him to go with us to get Sirius. He'd want to be there, and we'll need help while Sirius settles and gets back to being himself," she points out. "I don't think Remus will side with him if we have Sirius."

Harry nodded, agreeing with Hermione's assessment. "I wonder who else we might've missed," he muttered and continued jotting down the list of things they wanted to fix or change.

He paused and considered the question for a moment. "I think we need to be ourselves - not ourselves as we were then but as who we are now." Only, they'd have to tone it down a little bit, obviously. "Once we're sorted into our correct houses, we need to make an effort of befriending students in the different houses, not just our own. We could start a study group," he paused. "We didn't have anything like that in Gryffindor and obviously my studies weren't my focus. It could be a good first step at least."

Harry thought of McGonagall and smiled. "Yeah, I think she'd be on our side. We'll have to make sure she's not under any compulsions though before she'll believe us. We should be upfront with her - she'd be a very handy person to have on our side. We should really try to meet with her as soon as we can." Though, they may have a harder time since they weren't going to be in her house this time around.

"Agreed. We should just be careful," he said, looking at her. "Do you remember what he said that night? He truly thought Sirius was guilty... everyone did." Except, he was sure, Dumbledore. He'd known. "So we'll have to convince him that Sirius was innocent." He didn't want to be too cynical but he wasn't exactly sure how deep Remus' loyalty to Dumbledore went.

"Everyone has motives. We just considered only the deadly ones, the ones where they were following the Dark Lord. It was the biggest threat, so it was all we looked at. We know now the other things we need to look at. And do what we can to protect ourselves. That has to come first and foremost."

Otherwise they could end up in worse circumstances and they both know it.

"A study group would be brilliant, and we can start the things we taught in the DA earlier, get people prepared in case things do go bad. I can't live through all of them dying again," she whispers, shaking her head. "I still haven't recovered from the Great Hall covered in bodies. I just can't do that again."

Even as she says it, she moves to sit closer to Harry, leaning in and resting her head on his shoulder.

"We'll find a way to talk to McGonnagal, even outside of her house, and then... If we can get Peter to confess, Remus would have to believe him. If nothing else it keeps him away from being on Dumbledore's side. Maybe."

"At least with Him we know what to expect," Harry said. "We know how to anticipate anything he may throw at us this time around. We can afford to watch everything else now," he said in agreement.

Harry nodded. "Exactly," he said and wrapped his arm around her when she sat down next to him. "I haven't either," he admitted softly and pressed a kiss to her head. "I refuse to see so many die this time around. Especially since we know so much more now compared to then."

"Having her on our side and sharing what we know with her could help us grab Peter," he admitted after some consideration. "Then we wouldn't have to sneak in and grab him," which was admittedly where his mind was going. He simply wasn't sure how much she'd believe them, especially if they weren't in her house after the sorting later that evening.

"We'll have to start as soon as we can to form that study group and form friendships with our classmates."

He's not wrong. They need McGonagal on their side, and they need to get some of the other students on their side. Even with all of the knowledge they have now, they know they can't do this on their own and it's going to go take a lot.

She just wishes she felt better about the surety of having all they're going to need to do this.

-----

"Mister Potter. Miss Granger. How can I help you?"

Professor McGonagall sat behind her desk, working on scrolls. She settles her glasses as she sets down the quill.

Harry shared a look with Hermione before walking closer to Professor McGonagall's desk and taking a seat in one of the chairs. "Professor, thank you for agreeing to speak with us," he started.

He scanned the room quickly, knowing they'd need to be sure there weren't any listening devices. He trusted her but he didn't put it past Dumbledore to listen in on his professors.

"Forgive us, Professor but are we safe to speak freely," he hedged, knowing as it stood, they shouldn't be aware of... well all the things they knew about the school and magic. They could run the same spell they used in the carriage but he didn't dare do it yet.

Professor McGonnagall frowns slightly at that question, glancing at the door and then lifting her wand. There's a shimmer of magic and then she gives a nod.

"It's only us then, but what has you so worried, Mr Potter?" She glances to Hermione, arching a brow.

"Professor, if we told you there had been an enchantment on us, would you be able to sense it?"

She nods. "Though it's not common for test for such thing on students. Especially first years."

Harry watched as she sealed off the room and relaxed a little bit in the chair. "Thank you, Professor," he said and glanced at Hermione before returning his attention back to McGonagall.

"We understand. Professor, we'd like for you to test us, please," Harry said, hoping that she'd be able to sense it despite how much time had past since arriving. Their upcoming months... hell, school years truly could be a lot easier if they had her support and she believed them. First, they had to prove it to her. Somehow.

Edited 2020-10-11 23:18 (UTC)

McGonagall looked between the students as she straightened in her seat. Drawing up her wand, she considers her spell and then casts a charm over the two students.

She blinks, head canting. Not a single word though as her ward moves once more, and the spell falls over them. She rises from her seat, moving around to Harry. She takes his chin in her hand and stares into his eyes.

"What manner of madness is this? Who cast such a thing? What is going on here?"

Harry stared into her eyes, not flinching away. "It's a long story. How much time do you have," he asked, knowing her time was precious. Especially considering the Weasley twins and the youngest menace who, from what he could tell, wasn't doing any better than he had the first go around. Worse, actually since he didn't have himself or Hermione around.

"This is where it's very important to know if there are any portraits who may be listening." He had become rather paranoid over the years but considering what they'd gone through, he felt it was justified.

McGonaggal glances around, wand in hand and giving a quick symbol. There was a pop and a woosh as the air around them nearly solidifies.

"Nothing but the three of us now, Mr Potter. There is a charm that seems to be like a time turner. I can't detect that, but something major is off. Try and find a way to make it quick as you can, but tell me what is going on."

Harry studied it silently before finally nodding and reached out to take Hermione's hand in his, giving it a squeeze. He didn't really care how it appeared at this point, he only hoped she'd believe them.

"You have to swear that you will not tell anyone else what we are about to tell you, Professor. As much as we respect you, my first priority is making sure we're safe." He paused and watched her closely before starting to explain the situation they found themselves in.

"Hermione and I are from the future, from 2017 in fact. We'd just found out that Ron Weasley and Molly Weasley were dosing us with some variation of a love and loyalty potion resulting in Hermione marrying Ron and myself marrying Ginny Weasley. Once we'd taken the counter potion, thanks to Hermione and her team, we confronted Ron and Ginny and found out the entire story. Within hours, we found ourselves in our eleven year old bodies again. We believe Molly Weasley had everything to do with it."

She nods the moment he asks, casting another spell with her words. "I swear to you that I will not repeat a word of this to anyone but the two of you and anyone else you deem allowed. Whatever it is."

It's a huge vow but she needs to know what's going on and how this happened. What this is.

Her nose wrinkles. "Ronald? Why would..." She shakes her head, that's not the point.

"She reset time? How..." The color drains from her face. "That is an ancient magic. I mean, perhaps her family know that kind of work. They were very powerful once upon a time but..." She shakes her head again. "That takes a sacrifice."

He exhaled a soft breath when she made the vow. "I swear to you and on my magic that everything we say is the truth to the best of our knowledge," he said, feeling the vow take hold. It may be a bit extreme but he wanted her to know how serious they were. He picked up his wand and said a simple lumos, causing the tip of his wand to light up brightly. He said the counter spell before pocketing his wand again.

"So who could she have sacrificed... I assume Bill and Charlie are still alive. We know the twins are here and Ronald. Percy... I haven't seen or come across him yet, have you," he asked Hermione with a raised eyebrow before turning to look at Professor McGonagall. "He'd be Prefect this year or next." He doubted she'd have sacrificed Ginny or Arthur.

Hermione nods, saying the same thing that Harry does, adding her words to his and sealing things for the woman before them. She's still nervous about what she will say outside of this room and to whom but for the time being, they have to trust those that they have and she is one of that they will need if they're going to do this.

The professor looks between the pair of them, frowning at Harry. "William and Charles Weasley have both graduated. We have Ronald, Fred and George." She is looking quite a bit pale and gripping her wand with white knuckles.

"Percy? Weasley? We have no student by that name," she says in a low voice. "No Percy at all."

Harry's mouth drops open the moment she said there was no Percy Weasley. "Merlin," he exhales and looks at Hermione before looking at the professor again. "She actually sacrificed one of her children for this."

He couldn't even fathom it. Though, truthfully, he hadn't thought of his own children since they arrived in the past but as far as he saw it... they weren't really his children. Which was perhaps harsh but how he felt.

After a moment, he mentally gathered himself again. "That is unfortunate," he said finally. However, it did help in some way. Percy wouldn't be able to assist Barty Crouch Jr. later on in their Fourth Year with the tournament. "We are coming to you, Professor because the first time around we were both in your house and came to trust you and look up to you. We know how rapidly things can and will go down and will need your help. The first is a rat that young Ronald has in his possession." He hoped Ron had him anyway. Scabbers had been Percy's before.

Hermione's blood runs cold. It can't be. She wouldn't. How could she...

She shifts closer to Harry, clinging to his arm as she presses her face to his shoulder for a minute. She can feel tears, hot and sharp in her eyes. They were never close to Percy but that was just so horrific and she can't even imagine.

Professor McGonagall looks between the two, hurt just by watching them. If she had thought to doubt their word, despite the vows, that pain on their faces was enough for her to know all they were saying was true.

She considers that, head canting just slightly. "And what is there about this rat that is an issue?"

Harry wrapped his free arm around her shoulders and held her close. Percy had been an annoying prat for most of the time they grew up but that didn't mean that either of them wanted to see him gone. Ron on the other hand... well... He pressed his forehead against Hermione's head, simply holding onto her before exhaling a slow breath.

"The rat is Peter Pettigrew who faked his death so that Sirius, my Godfather, would be arrested and thrown into Azkaban without a trial." Harry could feel himself get a bit angry at the idea and the thought of Sirius being thrown into prison without a trail but he couldn't let his temper get the best of him. Not right now. "Did you know that Sirius never got a trial, Professor?" He didn't blame her and he hoped that she didn't take it as such. It was Dumbledore's fault and the Ministry.

"My father, Sirius, and Peter learned to become animagi when they were in school so they could keep Remus company. Peters form is naturally a rat."

Hermione isn't even sure if she would be okay if this was Ron. She's just not. It's about family. It's about love. It's about that it mattered more to her to force them into her family, to get back her blood pride, than it was about loving her children.

She clings to Harry, not caring that in body they are eleven years old. She needs his closeness and his comfort.

McGonnagal watches them, noticing the closeness between them, how they touch and how mature their motions are. And how deep their pain is over this news that she is still so confused about. It's not that Molly Weasley wasn't strong enough to do this, it's how could she do it?

She frowns, shaking her head. "No. No, I did not. He was sent... Peter was killed in an alley after trying to stop him. There were so many arrested for deaths and sent to Azkaban. I just never thought about what happened between those two things happening.

Her brows shoot up. "You know about Lupin? About..." She shakes her head, that isn't the point. That they knew that meant more to her, gave her more knowledge about what they knew and how true this all is.

"Let me handle this," she says, glancing between them. "Ron isn't expecting anything, and he doesn't... He doesn't know about this, does he?"

He presses a soft kiss to Hermione's head, bringing her in closer to him as much as the chairs would allow. Harry wanted to provide the comfort she needed and knew later he'd probably need the same comfort. Harry exhaled a breath and just held onto her before looking at their Professor.

"Which was exactly what the previous Ministry bet on - that they wouldn't check on it since so many other things were going on," Harry said with a little nod. Not that it made it any better at all.

He shook his head. "No, he doesn't know a single thing about it. We never talked to him and we doubt Molly would have spoken to him about it. He's not very subtle and would likely run his mouth if given the chance." Harry paused and looked at her. "Do everything you can to make sure he doesn't run. He will go and look for his former Master."

All of this is becoming an entirely new kind of madness. Percy is dead. She killed him to reset time. What wouldn't she do to fix her family in their pureblood status?

McGonnagal paced the small confines of the charm, tapping her wand against her palm and considering what she's being told.

"For that to have happened, there's many who would have had to have gone along with this. That would include Dumbledore himself," she says, not asking but stating. She sounds confused, uncertain because that wasn't how things were supposed to be.

She pauses, looking to them. "His Master? You're saying he's alive then?"

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