End of Happiness and Starting Anew

Chapter 5

A New Prophecy?

    Dumbledore frowned. Things were not going correctly. The prophecy was faltering, dying. Voldemort had eliminated one part needed. The fifth person. Dumbledore knew the fifth person was related to one of them. But now, he did not know anyone who it could be. None of the remaining Weasley boys could possibly be it, they were too separated from the rest. Harry was an only child, as was Hermione, and Draco. He knew that the first sentence was almost complete. The third sentence was at the same stage. The rest of the sentences did not fit. One, the descendants were all in one house, excluding Slytherin's heir. Second, there were only four, but there were many Weasley children and they were not a Hufflepuff family.

    Dumbledore decided that only a girl could be an heir for Hufflepuff, so that made the Weasley child acceptable. Dumbledore reread the prophecy. There are no more. Dumbledore smiled. He had overlooked that literal reference. It did not say how many Phoenixes, Owls, Snakes, or Lions there were, just that this would happen. He chuckled, only as Dumbledore could chuckle, and grabbed a lemon drop.

    As most people came into his office, this one just chanced upon the room. Dumbledore knew she was coming though, he had already seen it. He had an amused twinkle in his eye when Trelawney walked up to his desk.

    "I See that there is something wrong, Headmaster," she said in her awkward tone, the one she used with her students.

    "Really, Sybill, do you have to talk like that?" Dumbledore chuckled. "Yes, something is going wrong."

    "Something important, from what I understand," she responded in a normal tone.

    "Yes, quite. It seems that I have either overlooked every possible line of the prophecy, or it is a false prophecy. Not a good thing to have, false prophecies, I mean."

    "Which prophecy?" Trelawney asked, not understanding what Dumbledore was talking about.

    "Oh, just this one about the fall of the Dark Lord. It's not that important."

    "The one I made many a year ago, before the loss of the Potter family?" she asked, still thoroughly confused.

    "Yes... It seems that Voldemort heard the same prophecy and is determined to make it false. Already, it seems that we have lost the fifth..." His voice trailed off for a second. "There must be something that I am overlooking. Perhaps Minerva could find what I am missing." He was about to ask her to get McGonagall, but he saw her in one of her abnormal trances.

    He settled into his chair, readying a quill, waiting for the prophecy.

***

    Harry made it to Hermione's house in record time. It had taken him just under three quarters of an hour. He found her in her room, sleeping restlessly.

    "Hermione," he whispered, attempting to wake her up. "Hermione!"

    Her eyes fluttered open. She opened her mouth to ask something, but she realized that Harry was standing by her bed. She gasped silently and grabbed him around the neck.

    "Hermione, we need to leave. Now."

    She sighed and grabbed her wand. She cast the spells needed to prepare her in such short notice, and jumped on the broom with Harry. He jumped off the ground and rocketed back to the Leaky Cauldron, even though Hermione was starting to cut off his air supply.

***

     Adriana was pacing hurriedly. They had barely a few precious seconds left before something big would happen. She was not sure what it was, but she knew that something was going to happen. She barely had time to ask Harry where he was when he landed in the room with Hermione.

    "We're here, Adriana," Harry said. Ginny looked up, bleary-eyed, and Draco gave a half-sneer. Hermione looked at Draco a second time. She had seen an actual smile when he sneered. It was not a normal smile.

    "It's happening," Adriana whispered, and the room went black. All five of them felt a pull coming from the navel, and they were gone.

***

    Dumbledore awaited Trelawney's new prophecy. She had been silent for the past hour, possibly organizing the prophecy, of she had just fallen asleep. Dumbledore had done it a few times in the past few weeks, and he did not write it off the list, even though it was something an older person would do. Suddenly, she opened her mouth.

"The five have left us. Gone back when He was strong.

Back, to when their parents went here, back.

They will return as different people, they will not be the same.

He will see this as an opportunity to attack,

The heirs' absence being the opportunity.

They must return within the week, else,

His reign will become true"

    She collapsed in her chair, and Dumbledore silently alerted Madam Pomfrey. He looked at his parchment and smiled. This would help slightly. At least there is a confirmation that there are five, he thought.

***

    James groaned as he was awoken from a scream emanating from the common room. He rolled out of his bed and slipped on his slippers, making sure he wouldn't get embarrassed if he walked into the common room. It was a Saturday, and there were no classes, being why he was still sleeping.

    He walked down the stairs and furrowed his brow, wondering why everything was so blurry. He saw a heap of people in the middle of the common room and saw some girl standing, but cowering in shock, on one of the comforters. James ran back up into his dorm and grabbed his glasses, putting them on. He ran back down to the common room and was Lily Evans, the only person standing in the room. He glanced at the pile of people, then ignored them as they started moving.

    "Lily, you all right?"

    "I'm fine, Potter," she returned coldly. "It's not like you care."

    A frown appeared on James' face, but he hid it. He walked over to the pile and sorted them all out. The red haired girl was the first to move.

    "Umm... anyone know how we got into the common room?" she asked her companions.

    A blond haired boy stood up and saw the other two standing there. "I- I have no idea," he answered, stammering. The red haired girl looked at him curiously, then saw the two Gryffindors standing at opposite ends of the room. She sighed and whispered something to the other three people.

    James watched as the remaining boy, who looked remarkably like him, except he had someone's emerald green eyes, helped the other two girls stand up. One was the boy's height, while the other was a couple of inches under him.

    "Draco, do you know what happened? One second we're all standing in the Leaky Cauldron on a dismal evening, the next we're in Hogwarts on a..." Harry became silent as he walked over to a window, "winter morning?"

    The four looked at him like he was going insane.

    "Harry," the tallest girl, who looked quite like Harry, said softly, "I think it's summer."

    "Well then," he retorted. "Why don't you explain that to Mother Nature."

    The girl walked over to the window and became pale. James and Lily still stood on opposite sides of the room, though neither was scared of the intruders. James mustered his courage faster than Lily could and approached the five.

    "Hi, I'm James Potter. You're in Gryffindor Tower. D- d'you need help with anything?" James winced. He sounded too much like an assistant or something.

    Harry and the tall girl looked at him like he was lying. The other three looked skeptical, but they all kept their cool.

    "I'm Hermione Granger. This is Ginny Weasley, Draco Malfoy, Harry Thomas and his sister, Adriana." The rest of her friends looked at her weirdly. Harry, however, caught what she was doing.

    "And you are?" he asked, turning to the other red head.

    "L- Lily Evans."

    He blanched, and she winced, wondering why this boy would blanch at her name.

    "Sorry," Draco intervened. "Harry here is just reliving some memories. He knew someone with that last name."

    "Yeah," Adriana said, though softer. "Bad incident. Our last friend had a run-in with a powerful Dark Wizard. Harry and I both tried to save him, but we were too late. We got glancing blows from the curse. It explains our scars." She showed Lily the scar on her right wrist. Lily cringed at the lightning bolt there, and Harry looked somewhat surprised at this revelation.

    Ginny continued the story, Adriana looked too depressed by the fake story to continue. "I think his name was... Ron Evans? Yeah, that's it."

    Hermione grabbed the two girls by the arms and led them off to Lily. "Would you be able to get us some beds? We probably won't be here for that long of a time, but while we are here, we can at least be comfortable, right?"

    Lily nodded feverently, and proceeded in bringing the three to the dorms.

    "What year are you in?" Harry asked James, breaking the pregnant silence. Harry knew that if he didn't force himself to ask normal questions, he would start to ask about things that hadn't happened yet.

    "I'm a fifth year," James said proudly. "My friend, Remus, got to be a prefect this year. Here, I'll show you to some beds... Oh. What year are you in?"

    "Fifth year as well," Draco said smoothly, mostly to cut off Harry's obvious response. Harry caught on swiftly, though, and nodded.

    "Follow me," James said, and proceeded into his dorm.

***

    Lily was extremely quick in getting the girls settled into the room. They had told her they were in the same year and they were becoming swift friends. They all meandered to the common room after getting their beds, seeing no reason to just sit around in the dorm. Adriana acted as if she had known the room, "lifting" the knowledge of it out of her companion's heads.

    "So," Hermione said after the four of them had gotten comfortable in the common room. "What do you think about James?"

    Lily immediately scowled. "I hate that... that ... oooh... I just hate him so much!"

    Hermione frowned for half a second. "Well, why?"

    "He's just so evil. He pulls all these pranks and his friends are so evil to me. Especially since they torment my only friend so much!"

    "And your friend is?" Hermione prodded.

    "Oh, just Severus. He's the only one who talks to me like I'm a real person, even if he is a Slytherin." Hermione and Ginny both went pale-faced. Adriana noticed this, but continued the conversation as if nothing had been said.

    "So, what's this Severus like?"

    "Oh, he acts like he's all superior when he's with his Slytherin crowd, he even calls me a Mudblood sometimes." Both Hermione and Lily winced and a gloom came about their faces. "But he's really nice to me when he isn't surrounded by Slytherins or when I'm surrounded by Gryffindor." Her face had a dreamy look on it.

    "So... your parents are Muggles?" Hermione asked tentatively.

    "Yeah, and my sister is so annoying. She keeps complaining about how I'm so special and she isn't."

    "My parents are too," Hermione said, blushing slightly.

    "Oh, cool! Then we can relate!"

    "And Harry didn't know he was a wizard until he was found on his eleventh birthday."

    "Are his parents Muggles too?"

    "No," Adriana responded. "Our parents, well, one was a pureblood the other just like you, in fact. We lost them at an early age and happened to be separated. We just met each other a couple of days ago."

    The three boys walked into the common room and Hermione sighed with relief. Harry smiled at her sideways and Ginny had to help her out of the chair. Not that Ginny was that much help, as Draco had smiled at her as well. Adriana was the only unaffected person out of Harry's friends, and found it quite strange that they would become so helpless under a smile. Lily thought Harry was smiling at her, and James thought that Hermione was faltering because of his smile.

    "So, shall we go to lunch?" James said, looking right at Hermione as she looked at Harry. They all nodded and walked to the Great Hall.

***

    Severus was waiting outside the Gryffindor common room. As the door swung open he looked up and spotted Lily. But she was surrounded by her friends, and by others that Severus did not know. Lily caught his eye, but he just sneered at her and stalked away. He had been planning something special for today, but seeing as she did not care to remember his special request, he decided that she wasn't worth it.

    Lily frowned as she watched Severus walk off. She remembered what she told him she would do, but that was before she met these five and saw that Harry character. There was something about him that she just liked. Maybe it was how much he looked like James, but how he was so much more mature than James. She scowled as she realized she was thinking of James as being something more than scum.

    "Hey, Harry," James was saying. "D'you play Quidditch? I'm the new captain and our only Seeker is in the Hospital Wing. She broke her neck and we don't think she'll be allowed to fly anymore."

    "James," Hermione said exasperatedly, "Quidditch and Harry are everything. That's half the reason he lives today." Draco scowled. "Admit it, Draco, he's better than you. He didn't have to buy his way onto the team. He was a first year as well." She gave Draco a supreme look and Harry's face turned red.

    James looked amused, but ignored that topic. "Well, do you happen to have a broom with you?"

    Harry frowned. "No, I happened to leave it at my cousin's house, and she's on a three month... excursion."

    "An Auror?" James asked, knowing the feeling. Harry nodded. "Well," James said thoughtfully. "We can get you a Cleansweep 3 or the new Nimbus broom. It's said to be the best on the market." Harry looked excited, but Hermione noticed that he was not impressed with the brooms.

    "D'you think you could get the Nimbus? It's what I have at my cousin's."

    "Hey, James, could you make that two?" Adriana inquired. "It seems that Harry and I here both have a reputation for Quidditch. He hasn't lost a match as a Seeker, and I haven't lost as a Chaser. We both played as first years." James looked at her differently, and nodded, seeming to accept her for a Chaser.

    "Well, I don't really know. You can be reserve for now, we have three Chasers as it is. And you won't be taking my place unless I happen to get injured or something. But you do know that I'm gonna have to test you. You won't get on just because you say that you two are so good," James said. "Well, I'll go talk to Professor McGonagall and see if I can get two Nimbus brooms. But, only after lunch." He smiled and Lily turned her attention elsewhere. Draco and Ginny seemed to be talking to each other privately and were holding hands. Hermione was the only one who, like Lily, was drifting with the group.

    "So," Lily approached Hermione, much like she had been approached by Hermione earlier. "What do you think of Harry?"

    "Ah, well, he's my best friend," Hermione said modestly, not telling the entire truth.

    "He's my twin, so don't get too fresh with him, y'hear?" Adriana said, obviously eavesdropping on the conversation. Her tone was playfully amused, but Hermione scowled. She let the comment slide past, but it was obvious that Adriana knew more about her feelings than she was letting on. He doesn't like me like that, so why do I care if Lily tries to go out with him? Hermione asked herself.

    Because, she's his mother, and plus, do you really know what he thinks? her mind countered, though she suspected that someone else was prodding that thought, and she looked at Adriana confusedly. Adriana motioned that she would explain later, mostly because Lily was around, but because she had to talk to Harry about it as well. They entered the Great Hall just in time for lunch and the group sat by James's other friends, people Harry, Hermione and Ginny all recognized, painfully in some cases, hatred flickering in others.

    "This is Remus, Sirius and Peter," James said, introducing his friends. "And this is Harry, Draco, Ginny Hermione, and Harry's twin, Adriana."

    Sirius smiled mischievously at Harry and Adriana, and Remus just waved. Hermione felt a pang of sadness that's magnitude was not her own, and she sat next to Harry in a comforting gesture. The meal was animated as ever, but Hermione could tell that Harry was not exactly in the best of moods and she unconsciously slipped her hand into his, their fingers interlocking. No one noticed this gesture, which was under the table, except Adriana, who saw her twin act as if a barrier was broken and a burden lifted from his shoulders.

    Thanks, both Hermione and Adriana heard. Adriana smiled slightly as she saw Hermione jump in surprise.

    Yo- you're welcome, she thought back, and Harry's face grew a smile. They finished the meal and the entire crew walked back to Gryffindor Tower.

    "You five should come with me so we can see about what Dumbledore wants to do with you," Lily said just before they made it to the Fat Lady. Harry nodded, and told James that he and Adriana would be be back soon to tryout.

    They walked mostly in silence until they got to the familiar gargoyle.

    "Oh, I forgot the password," Lily said softly.

    "No big deal," Harry said confidently. "We've cracked his passwords before. Shouldn't be that hard, we all know Dumbledore to some degree."

    Lily looked shocked, but let them attempt to break the password. They tried for over twenty minutes when Harry said the password accidentally. He was just repeating the prophecy softly, and happened to chance upon the word.

    "What was it Harry?" Hermione asked as the gargoyle opened the passageway.

    Harry grinned sheepishly. "It was Phoenix."

    Hermione smiled with him and they walked into Dumbledore's office.

***

    Dumbledore had an amused smile on his face. He knew that the group of kids were coming to his office, and he knew that he knew them all, excluding one, but couldn't place a single one but Lily.

    "Hello, Lily. It seems you have new... friends for me to meet?"

    Lily nodded and introduced Dumbledore to her new companions. Dumbledore smiled.

    "So, you're all in Gryffindor, I see?"

    "Yes," Harry said, speaking for the group. "I need to talk to you privately, though, Professor." Dumbledore looked amused, but continued with giving the five of them schedules.

    After Dumbledore had finished, Harry approached him once the other four had left. Adriana stayed behind to help explain.

    "Professor, you see, we aren't from this time," Harry started.

    "We've come from the future, but we don't really know why," Adriana continued.

    "And we were hoping that-"

    "-you'd be able to just ignore that fact-"

    "-so we could figure out how to get back-"

    "-and just set things right again," Adriana finished. Dumbledore looked quite amused and looked at the twins.

    "You're twins, aren't you?" he asked.

    "Yeah, we are," Harry answered. "Harry and Adriana Thomas," he said.

    "Well, Mr. and Miss Potter, I think that would be acceptable. Just don't make it seems like you are much smarter, though I have a feeling that Lily and that Hermione will be contesting for quite some time."

    "Oh, I don't know Professor," Harry said, giving Dumbledore a confused stare. "You yourself have commented on how intelligent Hermione is, even though it was hidden somewhat," Harry said, beaming. Dumbledore started to usher them out, but Harry saw Fawkes.

    "Oh, well hello there, Fawkes. How are you today?" Harry asked the phoenix. Dumbledore now wore the confused stare as Fawkes preened his feathers.

    "Good, be sure that I'll come back to see you. And often," was his parting comment. They walked to Gryffindor Tower in silence.

    They made it to the tower, realizing that they did not know the password.

    "Great," Harry moaned. "We could be here for hours waiting."

    Just then, however, James opened the picture hole, holding two brooms. Harry looked grateful, though he was certainly curious about the timing.

    "Well, I got two brooms. Want to go play?"

    Harry and Adriana nodded happily, and the three of them rushed off to the pitch. Lily stepped out from underneath the Invisibility Cloak she had swiped from James and watched as the three ran off, wondering why they looked like triplets.