Luna the Moon Monster's Fanfiction Archive | home
Prologue | Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four | Chapter Five | First Interlude | Chapter Six | Chapter Seven | Chapter Eight | Chapter Nine | Chapter Ten | Chapter Eleven | Chapter Twelve | Chapter Thirteen | Chapter Fourteen | Chapter Fifteen | Chapter Sixteen | Chapter Seventeen | Chapter Eighteen | Chapter Nineteen | Chapter Twenty | Second Interlude | Chapter Twenty-One | Chapter Twenty-Two | Chapter Twenty-Three | Chapter Twenty-Four | Chapter Twenty-Five | Chapter Twenty-Six | Third Interlude | Chapter Twenty-Seven | Chapter Twenty-Eight | Chapter Twenty-Nine | Epilogue | Timeline
Chapter Four
So Near, and Yet So Far
It felt like travelling by portkey. As soon as the spell was spoken a pulling feeling dragged them into darkness. A floating sensation was followed by a bright flash of light and the four found themselves sitting on their trunks by the Hogwarts lake. Hermione was looking around, trying to figure out what had happened. Ron looking annoyed, and Ginny was staring at Harry. The Boy-Who-Lived was curled up on his trunk, shaking badly and muttering to himself. Ginny walked over to him and put her hand on his shoulder. Before she could say anything he had her in a headlock with his wand pointed at her heart. By this time the pair had caught the attention of the other two. Ron was watching the scene with a look of shock and betrayal. It was Hermione who worked it out first.
“ Harry, calm down. You have to snap out of it. It wasn't a portkey. You-Know-Who isn't here, you're not in danger.”
Ron looked at her quizzically as the glazed look in his best friend's eyes slowly disappeared. Sheepishly, he released Ginny and sent her an apologetic look.
“ I'm sorry, Gin. I had a flashback of the Triwizard Tournament. I really don't like portkeys anymore. I though I'd been sent to Voldemort again.”
“ It's okay Harry. Where are we, anyway?”
“ By the lake at Hogwarts, it seems,” Hermione answered, looking at Ron's angry looking face.
“ WHAT! Where's the personal wealth? This is a complete waste of time. The only thing we've achieved is to get to school before everyone else.”
“ And I left Hedwig and Wormtail on the train! Someone could go in there and let him out!”
Ginny went over to their trunks and picked up the book with the spell in it. Reading the words, her brow furrowed slightly.
“ Harry, you don't know much Latin, do you?”
After a slight shake of the head from the boy she continued to read the page.
“ It seems we're not only at Hogwarts, we're at Hogwarts in a different time. The spell `Tempus Vehere' literally means `time travel'. Is that right, Hermione?”
The bushy haired girl nodded slowly and started to panic.
“ So, we're in a different time? And we don't know when? We could be anywhere! This all your faults, I never wanted to go along with it.”
“ SHUT UP!,” Ron shouted, “ This is getting us nowhere. Why don't we just go up to the castle and see what's there. We might be able to find some help that could get us back to the train.”
Silence followed for a few seconds before the others rushed to pack everything back into their trunks and place floating charms on them. Turning towards Hogwarts, they gradually walked across the grass to the castle to find some sort of help.
*~*~*
On their way, Simbi poked his head out of Harry's sleeve, quickly followed, as always, by Nirah. Both looked at their master, as if waiting for an explanation. When none was forthcoming, Simbi broke the silence.
*Harry, what is going on?*
*We did a spell wrong. We've ended up in a different time, but we don't know when*
The two snakes looked at each other an appeared to be having a silent conversation. So this is what they look like when they're speaking telepathically, Harry thought as they turned back to him after a final nod to each other.
*We believe we are far from our own time. The air tastes different, much too clean*
Harry pondered this before passing this insight on to the others. By this time they'd reached the doors and were entering the castle. In the Entrance Hall they were greeted by four figures, two male and two female. They looked at the new arrivals and began speaking to them in a strange language. Hermione looked at the others with a gleam in her eye.
“ I recognise this. It's Anglo-Saxon. We must be a long way in the past. I know a spell that'll make us able to understand each other for a short time.”
With that she waved her wand at each one in turn and muttered `Comprio Lingua'. When she was finished she turned to the four adults and introduced herself.
“ Hello, I'm Hermione Granger. These are my friends, Harry Potter, and Ron and Ginny Weasley. We're sorry to barge in like this, but we had an accident and need some help.”
“ Accident is an understatement,” Harry muttered.
The four strangers looked at each other for a minute before one of the men stepped forward.
“ We will gladly give you any help you require. Let me introduce us. This is Lord Slytherin,” he said, gesturing to a tall blond man, before waving at the two women, “ And these are Lady Ravenclaw and Lady Hufflepuff. I am Godric Gryffindor, welcome to Hogwarts School.”
Four thuds could be heard echoing in the Entrance Hall as the students fell to the floor in a dead faint.