Disclaimer: Not my usual fare, but fun to write.

Hogwarts' Lost Class

"Well isn't that a sight for sore eyes."

A smile bloomed on Hermione's face and she turned with a look of anticipation. "Harry?"

"The same," he agreed.

"I'm so glad you came," Hermione said happily. "It's been what . . . seven years?"

"Close to eight," Harry replied. "I figured this reunion would be small enough without me missing it."

"You know what they call us?"

"Hmmm?"

"Hogwarts' lost class," Hermione said. "They even folded the year above us and the year under us into it."

"Not many classes have survivors rather then graduates," Harry mused. "Who's showed up?"

"Luna, Susan, Dean, Neville . . ."

"Neville?" Harry interrupted. "So he's . . ."

"The same," Hermione said sadly. "No change, they put him in a bed next to his parents."

"Why's he here?"

"The Healers thought it might do some good to have him around familiar faces," she explained.

"Did it?"

"No," she sighed. "Not that I could tell."

"Did they bring Ron?" he asked, fearing the answer.

"No." Hermione shook her head. "No point, there isn't any hope that he'll come back. They're only keeping his body alive for Molly. Ron's dead, his heart just doesn't know it."

"He never did know when to quit . . . dumb bastard."

"Yeah."

"So what have you been doing with yourself?" Harry asked to break the silence. "Aside from being the youngest Charms Professor in two centuries."

"Two and a half," Hermione said with mock arrogance. "And the youngest Deputy in four."

"Deputy Headmistress too?" Harry said with a grin. "I'm impressed."

"Hello Hermione," Luna said as she walked up. "Harry, I'm surprised to see you here . . . considering."

"Considering what?" Hermione asked.

"Considering that I'm the lead suspect in several murders," Harry said calmly. "And because Luna here is an Auror."

"Murders?"

"You didn't hear?" Luna asked. "Someone hunted down every 'alleged' Death Eater that escaped prosecution."

"Didn't wonder why you haven't seen Malfoy?" Harry said with a shrug. "Took them three years to get them all."

"And the majority of them died very nasty deaths," from Luna's tone of voice she could have been talking about the weather. "Harry here is the lead suspect."

"They say it took poor Draco three days to die," Harry mused. "Someone wasn't happy about what he did to Ginny."

"How'd you hear that?" Luna asked. "The three days thing I mean."

"When you're the 'Boy-Who-Lived' and the 'Slayer-Of-Voldemort' people tell you things," Harry replied. "I think it's because of the hyphens."

"That must be it," Luna agreed. "Did anyone tell you things about the possible fate of Umbridge and Fudge?"

"I thought Umbitch committed suicide?" Harry asked.

"She picked a particularly slow and painful way to do it then," Luna giggled.

"Let me put it this way," Harry began. "So far as I know she committed suicide."

"Oh . . . thank you Harry, and Fudge?"

"Drained every account he could and fled to Bermuda," Harry said. "To retire to the sandy beaches."

"Thank you again Harry," Luna said serenely. "I'll have to pay him a visit."

"Assigned to the Fudge case?"

"Hmmm . . . yes, why do you ask?"

"Because the only way he's coming back here is in a box," Harry responded. "Seems that someone broke into his villa and set him on fire. They did all they could, but he died in the hospital one week later. So sad."

"You always did know how to hold a grudge Harry," Luna laughed.

"What are you doing with yourself Harry?" Hermione asked to change the subject.

"I kill people," Harry said bluntly. "If a country has a blossoming Dark Lord they call me and I take care of the problem."

"Enthusiastically and cheerfully," Luna chirped.

"What can I say? I love my job . . . sides, it was the only thing I've ever been really good at. Dumbledore dedicated his life to bringing peace to the magical world, I like to think I'm continuing his work."

"I doubt that Dumbledore would have agreed with your methods Harry," Luna said dryly.

"Different men, different methods."

"There are better ways to bring peace to the world Harry," Hermione said calmly.

"Dumbledore's way brought us to the point where we barely have a sustainable population," Harry pointed out. "Mine seems to be working much better."

"I didn't say I disagreed with you," Hermione replied. "Just that there were better ways."

"Like what?"

"You'll find out if my project is successful," Hermione retorted. "Seven years of work, I started right after you left last time."

"What's this mysterious project then?" Susan asked as she walked up to the group.

"Terribly mysterious," Hermione replied. "How do you like the Department of Mysteries?"

"I'd tell you . . ."

"But you'd have to kill us," the rest of the group chorused.

"But it would bore you to tears," Susan corrected. "My department has a cool name, but spell development and research aren't the things adventures make."

"I notice you're getting around better then you used to," Harry commented. "Did they . . ."

"No, I've just gotten used to the prosthetics. Two legs isn't too bad a price to get through the war, considering what happened to some of us."

"Yeah," Harry agreed. "So . . ."

"So . . ." The group looked at each other , all trying to find something to break the awkward silence.

"Could I have a few hairs from each of you?" Hermione blurted. "And some blood if possible?"

"Why?"

"That project I mentioned earlier," Hermione said. "I swear to you that I have no reason to believe that it will harm any of you . . . or me."

"What is this project?" Harry demanded, there was a time when he would have provided Hermione with whatever she asked without question. Then again there was also a time that he wouldn't have been able to skin a man alive, sadly both times had passed.

"I've done the numbers," Hermione began. "Thanks in part to Harry's efforts, the United Kingdom's magical population is no longer at sustainable levels. This years graduating class will be larger then ours but . . ."

"But you can count ours on two hands," Harry said with a nod. "Fingers left over if you don't count Neville and Ron."

"There are things we could do to keep our numbers up," Hermione continued. "But none of the . . . palatable methods would leave our culture intact."

"Are you sure that's a bad thing?" Susan asked. "Look what our culture has brought us."

"It's a valid point," Hermione allowed. "But at best it's a side issue, it's not important enough for me to worry about."

"So what's this plan of yours?"

"Have you ever wondered what it would be like to go back?" Hermione asked suddenly. "To change the past?"

"Every day," Susan said quickly. "But it's impossible, you can't change time."

"Not with a time turner," Hermione said with a grin. "You can send your personality back and you can change the past. I've already successfully tested it and it works."

"What?"

"We spent a normal night catching up with each other," Hermione said. "The party broke up around midnight and we all agreed to keep in touch but as of two months later none of us except Susan and I have said a word to one another. I had Susan check my calculations the day before I came back and she agreed that everything should work."

"So you . . . came back?"

"So I came back," Hermione agreed. "I should be able to get us back about twenty years with a five year margin of error . . . how about it? We can save everyone, I figure the addition of a battle hardened Auror, a spell developer, the Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts, and a psychotic assassin, should be enough to bring about a more favorable outcome. And if not, well then we can always try again and again until we get things right."

"I'm in," Harry said immediately. "I do what I do to make the world a better place, seems that this'll give me a chance to do just that."

"I'm in as well," Luna agreed after a moment of thought. "Especially if it gives me a chance to save mummy."

"Susan?" Hermione asked nervously.

"Are you kidding?" Susan asked incredulously. "A chance to make history with a spell thought impossible? Of course I'm in, besides it's not like any one of us will lose anything if something goes wrong is it?" The group nodded grimly at her question. "So, when do we start?"

AN: An idea that's been bothering me for a while, thought I'd take the time to put pen to paper. It came from 'Odd Ideas' and I'm finally giving it a story of its own. Polish by dogbertcarroll.