Patchwork Quilt

In the Last Chapter:

18 August, 1996

"Anyway, Harry -" Tom never got a chance to finish his sentence. Harry's body had gone rigid, his eyes rolling back into his head. "Harry!"

And, with that, Harry Potter disappeared.

31 October, 1986

Dumble is going to love this, Harry thought. First I snuck out, then I got myself magically transported to Hogwarts ... He'll never let me go anywhere again!

Harry pushed open the door and was met with a cacophony of noise. What the - ? A pair of small children ran in front of him, nearly knocking him over. Why are there so many people here?

"Hey!" shouted a voice from the staircase. "Be careful down there!" Harry's head whipped around and his eyes widened: Bartimus Crouch was stalking towards the kids. "You're going break something if you don't watch out."

"Sorry, Mister Crouch," they mumbled and scurried off. Crouch turned and Harry started panicking.

Oh, no! He can't recognize me! He's supposed to be dead! What is going on here? He quickly altered his face - changing his eyes blue to match his hair - and tried to remain expressionless.

"Hello," Mr. Crouch greeted. "Can I help you?"

"Ah, yes! My name is ... Zachary. Zachary Harrison. Er, is this Hogwarts?" he finished lamely.

"You must be here for the convention. Come this way." He began to lead a very confused Harry to the Great Hall. "You're late, you know. The other students all arrived this morning."

"I'm ... sorry. There was a delay."

"Punctuality will lead you far in life," he snapped. "Remember that. I'll have to inform the Headmaster that he has another charge."

They entered the Hall. Banners and steamers hung from the rafters and the room was full of people: students, teachers, Ministry members, and more. The reason why was apparent and it caused Harry's heart to sink.

'The 500^th Annual International Wizards' Convention

October 31, 1986'

Oh, shit.

Dumbledore watched through his half-moon glasses as Bartimus Crouch escorted a young man into the hall. There was something vaguely familiar about him ...

"Professor!" Mr. Crouch called. "Another new arrival for you. His name's Zachary Harrison."

"Well, Mr. Harrison," said Dumbledore. "Where are you from?"

"London."

"I meant, what school are you from?"

"I was ... home-schooled."

The Headmaster frowned at the uneasy look on the students face. There was something not quite right there. He'd have to keep a close eye on this one.

Harry tried to rack his brain for anything he'd learned about the International Wizards' Convention in History of Magic. The last time there was a large gathering of members was 1986 ... it helped create wizarding unity ... Why, oh, why did he have to fall asleep in Binns' class so often?

Okay, recap: I'm stuck in the past. I have no idea how I got here. Or how to get back, for that matter. Oh, yeah, I'm screwed.

"We'll have to get you settled in then." Harry noted the twinkle absent from Dumbledore's eye. "First order of business is to have you Sorted."

Harry sat on the stool while Hat was slowly dropped over his head.

'Ah, Mr. Potter!' the Hat greeted. 'I wasn't expecting to hear from you for a while.'

'It's good to see you, too, Sorting Hat.'

'You've certainly grown-up to be a polite young man. Let's take a look, shall we? My, my, this is interesting! It seems you have already been Sorted? A Gryffindor, eh?'

'Yes, well, I've changed a lot over the years ...'

'I can see that. You've been through so much for one so young.'

'Can we just stick with the Sorting part?'

'Alright, don't get impatient. Are you going to let me choose where to place you this time?'

'Yes.'

'No arguments this time?'

'None that I can think of.'

'Very well then.

"SLYTHERIN!"

Dumbledore's smile drooped slightly as he watched the young man stand up, but Severus Snape's interest grew exponentially.

"If you could take a seat over there, Mr. Harrison." He waved a hand towards the green-bedeck table. "We will commence with the banquet in a half-an-hour."

Dumbledore's eyes followed Zachary's path to the Slytherin table. He leaned over and whispered to his Potions Professor.

"Keep watch on that one, Severus."

"Why?"

"He worries me. Just be cautious around him."

Severus nodded.

Harry sat down and was immediately accosted by his neighbor.

"Hi! You're name's Zachary, right? Can I call you Zach? I'm Rebecca! My friends call me Becker. Isn't Hogwarts great? I just love it here already. And the people are so nice. It's much better than Beauxbatons. It's so exciting to be at the Convention. It's like being part of history! And - " Harry clapped a hand over her mouth. This girl reminded him of Hermione. At that thought, he felt a pang in his chest.

"Let's see if I got all that - Hello. Yes and you may call me Zach. It's nice to meet you, Becker. That's an interesting nickname. Hogwarts seems nice so far, I only just got here. And the only people I've met are the Headmaster and Mr. Crouch. And he gives me the creeps."

"Which one?" came a voice from his other side. Harry turned to see a boy with ... no hair?

"Pick one," he responded and the boy chuckled.

"Lex Peterson," the boy said, sticking out his hand.

"Zachary Harrison."

"Thanks for that," Lex said, jerking his head toward Becker. "She's been talking none stop since she got here."

"She does it all the time at home as well," said the boy sitting across the table. "I'm Jabez Douleur, by the way."

The girl next to Lex snorted. "And Lexi here shouldn't be talking. He's just full of information."

"Yes, but I do not spew it forth like a bubbling brook, Lelia" he pointed out, eloquently.

Lelia rolled her eyes. "See what I mean?"

Harry smiled at her and opened his mouth to respond, but Becker chose that time to bite his hand.

"Ouch!" he exclaimed, rubbing his now sore fingers. "Merde!"

"Tu parles français?" asked Rebecca.

"Un peu," he replied, then switched back to English. "Mostly swear words." After spending weeks in the same house as Fleur, it was hard not to know - she cursed worse than a sailor. "A friend of mine taught me."

"Does she go to Beauxbatons?"

"She ... um, used to."

"All of my family has gone there. It's a tradition that started back with my great-great-great - "

"Hon, you're babbling again," said Lelia and Becker look sheepish.

"Sorry." She turned back to Harry. "You never told us what school you were from?"

"Oh, I'm home-schooled," he said uneasily, hoping she wouldn't ask questions. But this was Becker, so ...

"Ooo, what's that like?"

"It's okay - "

"Are your parents good teachers? It must be weird."

"My parents are dead," he stated bluntly.

Becker's hand flew to her mouth. "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm such an idiot. I just assumed ..."

"No, it's alright. You didn't know." He went on to explain. "I live with my ... Uncle and some of my godfather's family."

"What about your godfather?"

"He was killed in an accident a couple months ago."

"I'm two for two today, aren't I?" She laid her head on the table and wrapped her arms around herself.

"No, no. Really, it's alright - "

"Hey, look!" Jabez pointed to the front of the room. "It's starting."

At the Head Table, Dumbledore stood up to address the crowd. "Ladies and Gentlemen, it is a great honor to be with you here tonight, celebrating the unity between our countries and the 5^th Anniversary of the Dark Lord's Defeat!"

The corrugation cheered, but a certain Gryffindor-turned-Slytherin paled.

The what?!?