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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"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?"

Harry wasn't only thinking of what the Weasley Matriarch wouldn't do but also... where would it stop? Just like with every other powerful dark lord or lady in existence, there was never enough. There was never enough money, fame, greed and in this very situation - power.

He looked at McGonagall and nodded. "Yes, we suspect that Dumbledore has been an integral part of her schemes and especially in my life from the moment he left me on the doorstep of the Dursley's," he said, doing his very best to not allow his emotions to dictate the situation. They couldn't afford it, not right then at least.

"Yes, he's alive. Right now, he's... latched onto one of our very own, actually. Well. I say one of our own, I mean one of the professors actually." It was a lot and there was a ton more that they would eventually have to bring up but these were the most immediate.

She was quiet a moment before coming to stand dead before Harry, looking down into his eyes. "I argued with him about leaving you with them, Harry. I believe what you're saying here and now because we fought about it. In the end, he is Albus Dumbledore."

She sounds so upset by that as she reaches out, patting the boy's cheek.

That though, that is the part to be worried about. "So he's already here in the school? Tell me who."

Hermione tells her about Quirrel, about how he's hiding it, and of the mirror and how things were hidden and all that she could.

"But we have to plan for that," Hermione ends. "First we need to get Sirius out of Azkaban."

McGonnagal nods at that. "Let's get this rat."

Harry stared into her eyes and nodded, understanding why she did it. "I understand, Professor," he said. Although she hadn't been exactly perfect throughout their school years, at least at the beginning, he always felt that she meant well. And he hoped that she would continue to prove to be a valuable ally to them.

He gave Hermione's hand a squeeze as she explained about Quirrel and slid his thumb over the back of her hand. "I imagine if you haven't been asked yet, you will be very soon, to come up with a challenge."

"Don't underestimate him, he will get away at any opportunity he can get," he warned, hating that they had underestimated him from the very beginning. He stood from his chair and helped Hermione up. "Since we should not be with you when you capture him, we should leave you to it. Can we schedule another time to meet with you to talk about other things... advanced lessons, perhaps?"

McGonagall nods at that. "I already helped with that, and I assume it's safe. I take it that things are not?" Of course, she hadn't known they were worrying about Voldemort when she had designed it.

The professor nods, smiling slightly. "He doesn't know to expect me looking for him," she points out. "I can manage it in my class," she says. But she doesn't move to do those things. Instead she stares at the pair of them for a long moment.

"Let's say once a week we should meet and compare notes on those lessons," she says, lips pursed in a tight look. "And if you need me..." She moves to her desk, picking up a pair of glass marbles. She concentrates on them, not needing wand or word. "If either of you need me in an emergency, hold this tight and say vocavite. It will let me know where you are and I will be there quickly."

She handed one to each of them.

Harry considered his words for a moment. "It's as safe as it's going to be until Halloween at least. Quirrel will let loose a troll during the feast as a distraction. When that doesn't work, he'll wait until the Spring." Don't even get him started on his thoughts on that and basically Dumbledore hoping they'd take the adventure through the forbidden corridor. They weren't going to do it though. He refused to follow the old man's manipulations this time around.

His mouth quirks up a bit. "Perfect," he said, glad that Peter Pettigrew will be able to pay for what he'd done to him and his family. Then Sirius can get out and hopefully get the help he needed.

"That will work for us, Professor," he said, taking the marble from her and pocketing. He gave her a grateful smile. "Thank you." For believing them and assisting them.

She nods, considering that. "We'll make sure things are taken care of long before the Spring. Let's hope for Christmas break." She knows they can't move too quickly, but she also isn't letting someone destroy her school and her children.

She pauses, glancing between them. "You came to me and not Albus. Just how bad is it? I understand that you believe he was part of things with Molly but..." She can't bring herself to put it to words. "I need to know what we're facing."

Not them alone. Already she is siding with them. Even with the man who had been one of her closest friends for so long."

Harry nodded. The last thing he wanted was to move too quickly and make people aware of them knowing things they shouldn't too soon. He was thankful that she listened to them.

He debated for a moment as he considered their options. They had already taken up so much of her time but she did deserve to know. "We can go into the details and specifics about it later but there was a prophecy made before my birth that said the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born those who thrice defied him would be born as the seventh month dies. This child would be marked as his equal and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives. Dumbledore made sure that I would gladly sacrifice my life for the good of the wizarding world even though it meant dying for it." He paused, not realizing he had been clenching Hermione's hand a little tighter than he'd meant to. "Sorry," he said, softer. "There's... more to it but we don't have that kind of time. He made sure that I would be so beaten down that I would hold tightly to anyone who showed me affection." 'Like the Weasleys' was left unsaid.

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

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