Times Past
Chapter 6
Albus Dumbledore stared at the letter, still trying to decide what it was about – and what to do about it. Although the writer hadn't given a name, there was more than enough information to go by. The boy wasn't in Voldemort's pay, Dumbledore was sure of this, but even if he was, he was the only applicant for the job. Dumbledore had been forced to accept him, even though it was against his better judgement. Carefully, he folded the letter and placed it in a draw. By now, he could remember the words easily, to the point that the letter was no longer necessary. However, something prompted him to keep it, even if only to have something to compare Granger with.
Dumbledore closed his eyes, and saw the words of the letter swimming before blackness.
Dear Professor,
I realise this is extremely unorthodox, but I must stress the importance of allowing Harry Granger to have the position of Defence against the Dark Arts professor. Even though is young, I myself have been training him in Occlumency, and would not have sent him if he was not what he is now – a true Occlumens, who is at least as skilled as you yourself. While I realise that you would prefer to know as much as possible about your teachers, you must understand that Harry has secrets that not even you will discover – at least not while he is teaching at Hogwarts. Although it may seem odd, having Harry teaching is vital to the safety of the school and students for this year. I can only beg you to consider this letter and its contents carefully before making your decision.
Sincerely,
A Friend
He shook his head. No matter what the mysterious writer of the letter said, it wouldn't hurt to look up some background information on Harry Granger. After all, the Ministry kept records of all witches and wizards – whether they were muggle-born or pureblood, whether they had an ancestry of squibs and similar information. Although Dumbledore didn't necessarily agree with the reasons given for the files, he had discovered they came in handy if he needed to know something quickly, without too much fuss. However, it was odd how none of the former heads of the school had recognized the name – most of them knew many people both in and out of Hogwarts, although, admittedly, not many of their acquaintances were still alive. Having made up his mind, Dumbledore began to write his letter to the Ministry.
James Potter wandered through the train, trying to find his friend's compartment. After interrupting no less than five different groups, he finally found two of his friends – Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew. However, the fourth member of their group, Sirius Black, was nowhere to be seen.
"'Lo," said James urgently. "Have any of you seen Padfoot yet?"
Remus shook his head. "No."
"But he's usually late," interrupted Peter. "And there's still ten, fifteen minutes 'til the train leaves. What's the matter?"
James looked at them both anxiously. For various reasons, he and Sirius had never gotten around to telling the other two about the mirrors. "Well…"
"James, what is it?" asked Remus, watching him carefully. "If something has happened to Sirius, we deserve to know."
James glanced at them guiltily. "It's just that, well, I haven't been able to contact him for a week or so. And… I'm getting worried."
Peter stared at James apprehensively. When James got upset, other people also ended up getting upset, although for different reasons. Luckily, as Remus was about to say something else, the compartment door opened. James immediately shot off a hex in that direction; this wasn't a time when he wanted to be interrupted. However, the newcomer quickly cast a shield charm, knocking the hex back at James, who didn't look up until it gave him a beautiful set of boils.
"Thanks for that, James," said Sirius dryly, entering the compartment. "Soon as I get away from my beloved family, my friends are happy to use me for target practice."
"Sirius? You're okay?" asked James, still doubtful –. After all, someone had gotten Sirius' mirror, and it was hardly something he would just give away. "You've still got… everything?"
Sirius looked at James oddly. "Everything? Such as…"
James glared at Sirius. So much for not saying anything about the mirrors. "Particularly the mirror. Do you have it?"
Sirius nodded slowly, as Remus and Peter exchanged confused glances. "As far as I know, yes," he said, completely perplexed as to what James was getting at. "Why?"
"Just check," replied James. Sirius shrugged, and reached into his trunk. After a while, he brought out a plain looking mirror,
"See?" said Sirius, waving it around. "Now, why wouldn't I have had it?"
"More to the point," said Peter, "what is it?"
James sighed. He had hoped to avoid this, although, looking back, it was difficult to see how. "Okay, look," he said. "A couple of years ago, Sirius and I got these mirrors. They let you talk to whoever has the other one, without any interference. But then, around last week, I ended up talking to someone else on the mirror."
Sirius frowned. "Is that even possible?" he asked, ignoring James' glare. "I'm sure they're made in pairs, meaning that only your mirror can access my mirror and vice versa."
Remus nodded, joining the conversation. "That seems about right. Otherwise you'd always end up talking to someone else who had one of these mirrors."
"I know that," said James in frustration. "But I did talk to someone else through the mirror. It was strange though, he looked rather similar to me."
Sirius burst out laughing. "Y'know James," he said, "I reckon you were talking with your reflection."
James glared at Sirius again. "Similar, not identical. His eyes were green and he looked older. Anyway, I tried to hex him, but I think he dropped the mirror."
Sirius shrugged. "I doubt it's anything to worry about. Look, forget about and just point him out if you ever see him again, okay?" Sirius put the mirror back into his trunk and pulled out a deck of cards. "So, who's up for a game of Exploding Snap?"
Harry picked half-heartedly at his food. While the meal looked delicious, there was no way that Harry could have eaten. Today was the day that the students arrived; today he would be able to see them again. Despite this – of perhaps because of – Harry had refused to go to the feast. Although the students had not yet arrived, Harry had locked himself in his room, to ensure no other faculty members tried to convince him to go. Reluctantly, he looked at the food, trying to convince himself to eat it. Suddenly, Harry choked on nothing. Dumbledore had appeared, seemingly out of nowhere.
"What?" asked Harry, completely bewildered as to where Dumbledore had come from.
Dumbledore smiled, his eyes having regained their customary twinkle. "You are coming to the feast, are you not?"
Harry shook his head, and prepared to explain why. However, before he could begin, Dumbledore continued. "After all, you need to be there so that I can introduce you to the students."
Once again, Harry began to protest. "But-"
"I'm glad I was able to explain matters to you," said Dumbledore, apparently unaware of Harry's plight. As suddenly as he had arrived, he disappeared, leaving Harry talking to an empty room.
Harry sighed, before turning back to his meal. He wouldn't be able to eat it now and, even if he could, there wouldn't be any point. At the feast, he would be swamped with food – if he were able to eat it and ignore the young, yet familiar faces that would be filling the hall in front of him.
Before he had even finished considering this, Harry found himself moving the food to one side, already accepting that he would go to the feast. After all, he would have to face them eventually and it would probably be better to be able to observe them from a distance before actually having to teach them.
With this in mind, Harry prepared to go to the feast, reminding himself that he must not treat Wormtail any differently from the rest of them; he must sit and watch as they are friends with their betrayer.
Not long after Harry had arrived in the Hall, the students began wandering in, all of them chatting animatedly.
Once they were finally settled, the first years entered, looking nervous and generally trying to make themselves look smaller than they actually were. Harry watched as McGonagall carefully placed the Sorting Hat on its stool, trying not to laugh at the relieved expressions on the faces of many of the first years. After a few moments, the hat opened its mouth and began to sing.
So you are now at Hogwarts,
A school of great repute.
To learn the ways of magic,
And understand to boot.
But first, you must be split
Into the houses four
By way of your abilities
Which will be brought to fore.
You could belong in Slytherin
With cunning, pureblood friends.
You might end up in Ravenclaw
Where wit controls the ends.
You could feel right in Hufflepuff,
The house that's loyal and true.
You might fit in in Gryffindor,
Where bravery runs right through.
So now that you have heard this
Prepare to be amazed
For as soon as you are sorted
Your life is rearranged!
The hall clapped, although Harry could see that some of the first years weren't particularly happy about their life apparently beingrearranged. Once the clapping stopped, McGonagall unrolled the sheet of parchment and began calling names.
"Aaron, Melissa."
Harry let his mind drift as the first years were sorted. After searching the Gryffindor table for a while, he had finally found what he was looking for. Near the end of the table were people he recognised – four boys, paying almost no attention to the sorting, but seemed to be discussing something in whispers. Harry clapped absently as Gabbage, Ophelia was sorted into Ravenclaw, before he returned to watching the four friends. Now they were laughing, painfully unaware of their fates – that by the time Harry was sixteen, two of them would be dead, one a traitor, and the last of them left alone.
Finally, the sorting ended with Ulag, Minh, being sorted into Gryffindor. Harry turned towards Dumbledore, as the headmaster began to speak.
"Welcome back to Hogwarts," he said, his eyes seeming to stare at everyone at once. "Before the feast begins I would like to introduce our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Granger. He is here for this year only, to fill in for Professor Desidus, who has decided to take a short break."
The students clapped dutifully, some watching Harry curiously, others uninterested. Harry continued to watch his father and his friends, but although he looked carefully, was unable to see his mother.
Soon, the applause died away and Dumbledore began speaking again, his face serious.
"As many of you are aware, a threat has risen against the wizarding world as we know it. It is possible that your parents would not wish for you to know this yet, that they would like you to be kept in the dark for as long as possible, however, I feel that you must be told. This wizard, who has named himself Lord Voldemort –" Dumbledore paused, frowning slightly at those who had started, "is becoming stronger. If we shelter you completely at Hogwarts, you will probably not be ready for what will face you when you graduate."
Harry blinked. Even though he'd known Voldemort's first rise had been sometime around his parent's years at Hogwarts, he'd never expected this when he arrived. He glanced towards the four friends before a frown formed on his face and he turned back to Dumbledore, listening attentively. Perhaps this way he could figure out what was going on in this time.
Remus watched the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher – Professor Granger – suspiciously. All throughout the feast, he'd been sneaking glances at them – even watching openly for a while. "Hey," said Remus, "has anyone else noticed that the new teacher has been watching us a lot?"
Sirius looked at him in disbelief. "Moony, how can you tell he was looking at us specifically? He could be looking at anyone on this table."
Remus shrugged. It was more a feeling than anything; the few glances he had caught could have simply been coincidence. Interested, Peter turned to watch Granger as well.
"Y'know," he said, squinting slightly, "he looks sort of familiar. I can't quite figure why though."
Remus looked at Peter, startled, before turning back towards Granger. "You're right," he said in surprise. He looked closer, trying to place the resemblance. It came and went, depending a lot on the angle of Granger's head. Remus shook his head and turned to ask James and Sirius if they could work out whom Granger was so similar to. However, as soon as he saw James, he blinked and looked back to Granger. Glancing back and forth, it was hard to see how he had missed it. Quickly he nudged Peter. "Look at James, then Granger," he whispered, trying to avoid attracting James' attention. Confused, Peter did so; he gasped, his head swinging between the two almost comically. Although they weren't identical, they were still amazingly similar – from what they could see, Granger seemed to be the image of James in a year or two.
"Is that just coincidence?" whispered Peter, still entranced by the resemblance. Remus shrugged, just as fascinated.
"Dunno. James would have told us if one of his relatives was coming to teach at Hogwarts, wouldn't he?"
Peter shrugged back and turned to listen to Dumbledore. His friend sighed, before returning to the puzzle. If Granger was a relative, Remus was sure James would have mentioned it but even though he hadn't surely their looks had to be more than coincidence. Perhaps he was a distant relative to James – someone who didn't keep in contact with that particular branch of the family. Glancing between them once more, Remus reminded himself to ask James about it once they were back in the dormitories.
Thanks to my reviewers: fi, babyjayy, Vanderleigh, Kristie, anonomous, Dadaiiro, spottery, GwEnDoLyN P. MaLfOy, boredanddelirious, Siri Kat, phoebe666, padfootfan821, stefanie2, juggling stars, grumpy, hermoine21, Pline, sumranddumprson, HanyouToni, hye em yes, spectra2, Phoenix of Mysticality, moonypadfoot, and Yuki no Yatsu.
Hey everyone, I'm so sorry about how long this took. Hopefully updates will be coming quicker now - I think so anyway. And so, so, so many thanks to the people who put me on their favourites list. Thank-you so much! (I feeling very uneloquent).
By the way, does anyone know what has happened to get rid of formatting things - like the three asteriks which don't work anymore - and make it all weird? ETA: I've got it working now :)