When Harry arrived at the big
double door serving as the main entrance to Hogwarts, he was shocked to see that
it had been torn down. Off the hinges. Violently. He ran out to a group of
huddled and shaking students. They seemed about his age, and they were all
pointing upward, blabbering nonsense. He looked up. Now there was something he
didn’t think he’d ever see. All the towers and high chambers of Hogwarts
were on fire. On a raging, blue and red, out-of-control fire. The heat was so
intense it made the ground shake. Something was very wrong.
“Attention
Students!” came a loud, booming voice from the back of the group. “Everyone
follow your respective prefects to your shelters! Immediately! No talking!”
There was a sudden hush from the crowd, like a cold wind swept across them.
Then, nothing but scared footsteps scattering to every direction. They had
prepared for this, Harry thought to himself. But why? And why was everything
so…unfamiliar?
He looked around. These were Hogwarts students and
faculty, sure enough. But he couldn’t recognize any of them. Where were Ron
and Hermione? Professor McGonagall was nowhere to be seen either. Not even
Dumbledore.
“Nah. They’ve got to be around here somewhere.”
Or were they?
He
walked up to the students in Gryffindor uniform. They seemed to be more composed
now. If he was going to find out what was going on, he might as well talk to
someone. “What’s going on? Where’s Dumbledore?” he asked a boy his age.
The boy turned to Harry. “The attack. It’s started.”
Harry stared. This kid looked an awful like Ron, only
taller. With the red hair, freckles, build…
“Are you a Weasley?” He couldn’t keep the
question to himself. But then again, how could there be an Eighth Weasley?
He thought to himself. Nah.
The boy smiled. “How’d you know? I though our
name was forgotten after my Aunt Ginny graduated. Hehe. Guess not. Yeah, I’m
Michael Weasley. Fifth Year.” He extended his hand.
Harry was dumbfounded. My Aunt Ginny Graduated?
“Uh Yeah…” he said, shaking the boy’s hand
but looking back at the direction of Hogwarts.
“Aunt Ginny…” he thought to himself.
“Graduated…” What on earth was going on here? This was…the future…?
Then it suddenly came surging back to him. The forbidden corridor, the Mirror of
Erised, the eye of Tom Riddle…
“Hey! You okay?” Michael was waving his hand in
front of Harry’s face. Harry shook his head. “Huh?”
“Hey, I know it’s hard to accept, but we’ve got
to move on. C’mon, let’s go to the shelter.”
This is not happening. How could it? This is sheer
lunacy. It’s impossible. He had to know more.
He started walking with Michael. “So um…”
“Wait!” Michael interrupted. “You haven’t
told me your name yet. I don’t think I’ve seen you around before.” Harry
thought quickly.
“Oh, yeah. I’m…James. Um…I’m in the fifth
year too.” Harry stopped. This was pathetic.
“You are?” Michael looked back at him, then at
his robes. “And you’re a Gryffindor too. Why haven’t I ever seen you
around before?”
“That’s because…I’m a…delinquent. Yeah, I
get detention a lot.” Harry said.
Then he thought to himself “At this very moment,
Hermione would be scolding me for saying stuff like this.” He smiled. Then he
remembered how he had screamed at her during their argument only hours before he
landed here. In this…place. Or was it time?
“Hey Michael,” He began. “Uh, see, I…you
know, being the delinquent I am…I don’t really pay attention a lot at
class…y’know?”
“Hey, no sweat.” Michael replied. “It’s not
like what they’re teaching us is too interesting or anything.” He chuckled.
“Yeah, okay. So, sorry to ask but, what is this attack?”
Harry looked back at Michael, who was staring at him wide-eyed.
“You don’t know?”
“Ahh…”
“Oh, I get it. You were probably in detention when
they announced this. Otherwise how could you not know?”
“Yeah! That’s right. I was in detention.” Harry
said, wiping off his sweat.
“Okay,” Michael started. “well, you know how
about 13 years ago, when the famous Harry Potter – “
“Harry Potter?” Harry cut in. This included him?
“Yeah. You know him huh? His stories were probably
the most interesting of all the subjects.”
“Uh, yeah I think so too.” Harry was getting more
curious now. “ So what about him?”
“Well, it was 13 yeas ago when he was only a few
years before graduation at Hogwarts…He disappeared.”
Harry couldn’t believe his ears. “He did?”
“Uh-huh. I know this story by heart. He
disappeared. And when he reappeared about a year later, he had been transformed
into a powerful dark wizard.”
Harry was dumbfounded for the second time tonight.
“He was? How? Who did it? What happened?”
“Hey, slow down!” Michael said, patting Harry in
the back. “I guess you should start paying more attention to the lectures now
huh? Hehe. Just kidding. Anyway – “
“LOOK!”
A young Hufflepuff girl was jumping in excitement,
pointing upwards.
“Cool. They’re here.” Michael said, grinning.
Harry’s head was spinning. Just when he thought
things could not go crazier, they did.
The loud, booming voice who had called the students
to order earlier spoke above the crowd’s murmurs. “At last, the Aurors.”
* * *
