2017

Neville led Harry down from the castle and towards the nearby village of Hogsmeade, which Harry had never entered before. As they passed the Quidditch pitch, he noticed a sign that read:

Quidditch tryouts next Monday. Positions open for 1 Slytherin Keeper, 1 Gryffindor Beater, 2 Hufflepuff Beaters and 1 Hufflepuff Seeker!

REMEMBER, NO SELF-FLYING BROOMSTICKS ALLOWED!!!

"'Self-flying' broomsticks?" Harry asked curiously.

"They're causing us a great hassle," said Neville, shaking his head. "They've caught twelve kids trying to sneak a self-flying broom onto the pitch for the tryouts. Not that they'd give you that much of an advantage anyway -- self-flying broomsticks may get you where you want to go, but they're no match for someone who can really fly. Nevertheless, they had to confiscate two from Scorpios Malfoy."

"Scorpios Malfoy?" Harry asked. "He's not --"

"Oh, yes he is," Neville replied. "I will give him credit, though -- he's not quite as bad as his father was. Not that that says much, but it is something. Still, I shouldn't say anything -- you remember what Rose said, right?"

"Right," Harry repeated. He had been hoping Neville had forgotten about that. Not that he thought he should know everything about his future -- he just thought they should let him hear a few harmless details. Besides, he was quite curious to see how everything would turn out by 2017.

Soon, Harry and Neville were walking through the dark village, towards a dingy, rundown pub called the "Hog's Head". Nearby was a monument which Harry at first thought was dedicated to Professor Dumbledore. Then he noticed the first name:

DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF

ABERFORTH DUMBLEDORE

(2 May, 1884 - 13 February, 2009)

Harry almost managed to ask who Aberforth Dumbledore had been before Neville steered him into the pub, which had its four occupants seated at one table.

"All right, Harry, here's the D.A.," Neville told him. "That's Ron and Hermione over there. There's Luna -- you haven't met her yet -- and Ginny."

Ron and Hermione looked just how Harry would have imagined they would look as adults. However, their faces weren't quite as bright anymore -- there was a strange world-weariness to them that Harry couldn't have comprehended. Ginny was a slightly short woman with silky red hair and beautiful light brown eyes -- quite attractive, but probably already past her peak. The woman called Luna had long dirty blonde hair and the most unusual wardrobe Harry had ever seen -- one would have expected that she was going on a nature hike across an alien planet. Harry heard something go bump in the background, but disregarded it.

"What happened to you, mate?" Ron asked Harry in surprise. "You been de-aged or something? I'll bet it was George's new De-Aging Potion."

"Can't be," Ginny replied, "Harry's at home right now -- miffed that the Patronus said he couldn't come this time, but completely thirty-seven."

"Even if he doesn't act like it sometimes," Hermione said heavily. Ginny gave Hermione a look, but didn't say anything.

"Harry hasn't been de-aged," Neville told the others. "He was sent forward in time from the year 1991 -- by this." He handed the alarm clock over to Hermione and she studied it in fascination. Looking around at the room, Ginny sighed.

"You know," she said pensively, "it was in this very room that we founded the D.A. back in 1995."

"1995," Luna repeated in a rather dreamy voice. "Hard to believe that it was really over twenty years ago, isn't it? Sometimes it feels like just ten or fourteen years ago." Harry, being eleven, couldn't imagine remembering anything that took place twenty, fourteen or even ten years ago.

"Don't talk about stuff like that in front of Harry!" Hermione insisted. "It's bad enough that he already knows as much about his future as he already does! If he learns much more, it could serious alter history."

"That's exactly what your daughter said," said Neville.

"Rosie?" Ron asked.

"No, Hugo morphed into a girl and started school," Hermione said sarcastically. "Of course, he means Rose! Right?" Neville nodded. Harry heard the bump sound again, but ignored it.

"Well, what are you going to do?" Harry asked them. "You're going to get me back to 1991, right?"

"Well, obviously," Hermione said. "All our pasts -- futures -- whatever depend on it. Of course, the fact that the older Harry is still here would seem to indicate we've already been -- or will be -- successful in sending you back."

"Rose said that to," Harry told her. Hermione beamed, which made her look slightly more like her eleven-year-old self.

"Well, these letters are Roman numerals," she continued, looking at the clock. "They say, let's see..."

"2017," Harry interjected. "Rose already figured that out. I turned the clock to that and it sent me here, but now it won't go back."

"Maybe it's out of fuel," Luna suggested, sounding only vaguely interested in the proceedings.

"Fuel?" Ron asked.

"Well, everything needs fuel to run, right?" Luna replied.

"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!" Hermione said, sounding exasperated. "Alarm clocks don't need fuel -- they run on clockwork."

"All right, if you're so sure," Luna said a slightly defensive voice. Harry heard the bump yet again and the room froze.

"What's that bump sound I keep hearing?" he asked the others. Hermione shook her head.

"I think I have a hunch," she said heavily. "Accio Invisibility Cloak." Sure enough, the silvery cloak flew into Hermione's hands, revealing James, Rose and Albus about to sneak out the door.

"James! Rose! Albus!" Hermoine shouted. "What do you think you're doing here?"

"Uh... isn't that kind of obvious?" James answered.

"Don't be cheeky with me!" Hermione told him. "You're all in very big trouble!"

"Hermione, I believe James and Albus are my kids," Ginny said rather defensively.

"Fine!" Hermioine snapped. "Rose, you're in big trouble and you boys will get in big trouble too if your mum ever comes to her senses!"

"Now, that's not very nice," Luna said vaguely.

"C'mon, Hermione, they're just doing what we did when we were their age," Ginny insisted. "Don't you remember those days?"

"Of course, I do," Hermione replied. "And I seem to remember I only did things like that when either the school or the whole world was in danger. Now, if you want to punish the boys, that's your problem, but Rose is my responsibility."

"You know, I am her father," Ron said suddenly as though he had just remembered this. Hermione shot him a look. "Uh, sort of..." he quickly amended.

"Actually, they're breaking a school rule," Luna said very calmly. "Therefore, Neville, as the only professor present, should be the one to decide their punishment."

"Thank you, Luna," Hermione said matter-of-factly. "Neville, please see reason." Neville considered it.

"All right, ten points each from Gryffindor," he said, "and you can stay if your parents allow it."

"What?" Hermione asked in outrage. "Well, all right. Rose, you better get back up to the school."

"Hermione, you can't do that," Ginny insisted. "You'd be sending away the only girl. Do you have any idea what that feels like?"

"Well, you could send away the boys too and then it'd be fair," Hermione suggested. Ginny defiantly crossed her arms. "Ginny, you're thirty-six -- grow up!"

"Hermione..." Neville said slowly. "They're already here and I was going to tell them what happened in the morning anyway..." Hermione considered it.

"All right," she said reluctantly. "Rose can stay." James and Albus cheered, but Rose seemed to have been surprisingly indifferent about the whole thing.

"Okay, now, what do we do?" asked Ron. "Have you ever seen anything like this clock thing before?"

"No," Hermione replied. "I'll take it to the Department of Mysteries and try to find someone who might know how to fix it. If it's not fixable, we could always use a Time-Turner -- I have access to those, but the Ministry would notice if one went missing. Not that they'd suspect me, of course."

"The Ministry of Magic, you mean?" Harry asked. "But... wouldn't they approve of you sending me back?"

"Well... probably," Hermione admitted, "but I think we'd better keep this off the books and get you back as quickly and quietly as possible. That way, we'll have caused a minimum impact on the timeline. I mean, if the slightest thing is changed then... who knows? Maybe Voldemort would win the Second War... or worse."

"The Second War?" asked Harry. "But I thought I defeated Vol -- I mean, You-Know-- I mean, Voldemort, when I was a baby?" Hermione froze.

"I've said way too much," she said in a panic. "I think we'll have to wipe Harry's memory."