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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 Fifteen
Flashbacks and Duelling
Saturday morning saw Hermione back at the breakfast table, as good as new. Horatio still hadn't returned, and from what Lady Hufflepuff had said the night before, he wouldn't be seen for a while. The Great Hall seemed strangely cheerier without him there. People were still talking about what Harry had done two days ago, making the Boy-Who Lived rather embarrassed. He thought going into the past would give him a break from being in the spotlight, but it seemed that no matter where he went, he was famous for something. At least this will just be for a few days, and not for the rest of the year, he thought gladly.
Harry wasn't looking forward to that evening at all. Saturday was the day they started their training in duelling. Every time he thought about the upcoming lesson he couldn't help thinking back to his second year, when Gilderoy Lockhart had set up a disastrous duelling club and everyone had found out he was a parselmouth. He also thought about the start of the summer when he had duelled with Voldemort
He was pulled out of his thoughts by Gallatea. She was pulling him from his seat and dragging him towards the door of the Great Hall.
`Tea, where are we going?
You've forgotten already? We're meeting `Mione, Chris, Ardwick and the Weasleys by the lake. We were going to tell you more about our time, so Ginny will have more to put in her book.
Oh, yeah. Sorry. I'd forgotten about that. Let's go. It's a nice day; I might even be able to fit in a swim in the lake.
*~*~*
As the seven sat by the lake, Harry was considering what their lives were going to be like for the next year. So far they had been coping reasonably well. The other day, however, Hermione had broken down in tears at lunch time. She had been thinking about her parents, and the idea of not seeing them for at least three years was getting her down. They hadn't been able to find any more information in the library about the amulet. The one book they did have told them they would have to make at least two more trips before they could get home. Three years was a minimum. For those with families it was a long time. Harry wasn't so worried, though. He was glad that by the time they got back, he would be old enough to live on his own, so would never have to go back to the Dursleys. He couldn't help but wonder, though, what the people back home had thought of their disappearance. Sirius would be worried sick. Harry felt sad at the thought of his godfather. If he had only brought Wormtail with him instead of leaving him on the train, he would have been able to free his godfather once he got home. He missed Hedwig too. Not that he had anyone he needed to send letters to, but he just liked to have her around. Simbi and Nirah were good company, but they didn't seem the same as his beloved owl. She was his first birthday present that he could remember, from his first friend, and had kept him company at the Dursleys during the nightmarish summer holidays. Thoughts of Hedwig inevitably brought him to Hagrid. The half giant was the first person to be nice to him that he could remember. He wondered how his friend was getting on with Madame Maxime, and if his mission to visit the giants had been successful.
Harry's thoughts moved away from what he had left behind to what would be facing them in the future. The thought of spending a whole year in the time of the founders didn't frighten him as much as he would have thought. If he had been asked to consider the scenario before he left he probably would have said that he would never be able to cope. But now he was here he was enjoying himself. Here he got to be `just Harry' and not `Harry Potter - the Boy-Who-Lived'. He had even made three great new friends. Ardwick was good for a laugh. He liked jokes and playing games, and he never took life seriously. Christabel was quieter and more reserved. She was more of a thinker than Ardwick and was as good as Ron at wizards' chess. Despite her seriousness, though, she had a sharp wit which no-one could match. Gallatea was very different from the other girl. She was fiercely intelligent and hard working, and was more outgoing than Christabel. When Harry had first met her, he thought she was a bit of a snob. However, once he got to know her, and the idea of a betrothal was firmly out of her head, he could see that she was going to become one of his closest friends. It made him sad that he would only get to see his new friends for a year. After that he would most likely end up in a time where they were long dead. The thought grieved him, but he decided not to think about it too much. Instead, he considered where they could end up next. The book they had found told them that each time they used the amulet, they would move nearer to their own time. Harry couldn't help but consider the possibilities. They could end up in the middle of the Battle of Waterloo, or Culloden. They could witness some of the infamous goblin rebellions, or the Great Plague. They could end up anywhere, literally. The thought was a little frightening. The next place they end up could be somewhere so close to their own time, that they would have to use different names, or even change their appearances. Harry was abruptly pulled out of his thoughts as Ron poked him in the arm. He tuned back into the conversation, just as Ardwick was telling them a funny story about his little sister, the village idiot, and a pregnant cow.
What did you do that for? he whispered to his friend.
We're going back to the castle in a minute. Ginny thinks that because it's Saturday, we should spend some time in the room practicing what we've learned so far. Tomorrow, `Mione plans to drag us off to the library to research our animagus forms.
Sounds like a plan. I think Ard's finished, we should go up now. I think you need a little more practice with a bow and arrow.
Ron grinned back sheepishly as the group took their leave.
*~*~*
When Gryffindor turned up that night he was surprised to see four sweaty and tired looking students. As soon as he realised they had been practicing as suggested, he beamed at them proudly.
Well done, all of you. I hadn't expected you to be this enthusiastic. I'm glad to see you're taking the initiative and training for yourselves. It really will help you in the long run. Now! Let's begin. Harry, I want you to stand there opposite Ginny. There! And Ron, over here opposite Hermione. Now, on the count of three, I want Harry and Ginny to duel. I need to get some sort of idea where you are up to. One, two, three!
Harry and Ginny pulled out their wands and took aim.
Expelliamus! Harry yelled, but Ginny dodged out of the way, taking aim herself. The first thing she could think of to yell was a mild pain hex. Unfortunately, the spell was one of a number that came out as a beam of bright green light.
Harry's eyes widened as the spell shot towards him. He threw himself to one side, allowing the hex to sail over the top of his head, before curling into a foetal position on the floor, rocking slightly back and forth. Voices and memories swirled in his head.
Kill the spare.
A flash of green light.
His mother's screams.
Cedric's body falling to the ground.
The Cruciatus curse.
Red eyes.
Kill the spare.
Not Harry, please, take me instead.
Is this part of the task?
A golden dome.
Vibrating wand.
Kill the spare.
Harry was finally dragged from his mind by Ron's insistent shaking of his shoulder. His eyes snapped open and darted around the room in terror. When he realised he was in Gryffindor Tower, a thousand years away from Voldemort, and not in a graveyard in Little Hangleton, he started to relax. His breathing still harsh, he stood up and turned to face the horrified eyes of Ginny Weasley. As soon as he was upright the girl threw her arms around him and held on for all she was worth, muttering apologies over and over. Once the pair had calmed down, Gryffindor asked what was going on.
I had a flashback. I'm sorry. It's just, I've seen quite a few people I've cared about killed with the Killing Curse. The green light made me panic. I thought the Dark Lord of our time was attacking me. It won't happen again.
Gryffindor looked at the young boy, seeing that he really didn't want to go through that again.
It's alright Harry. If you don't think you can take this class
NO! I'll take the class. I will get over my fear, and be the best dueller I can, the boy said, determination glinting in his eyes. All Gryffindor could do was smile back at the boy in pride. He wasn't giving up, and that was all the founder could ask for.