A Wrinkle In Time

Chapter Five – The Potters of Godric’s Hollow

Everything in Harry’s vision seemed to constrict to a hollow tunnel, as he continued to stare at Sirius Black. He had only just remembered that Sirius was dead. The Sirius Black that he knew, older and wiser, his guardian and friend, one of the last links to his long dead parents, was gone and would never come back. Had he forgotten? No, but the last couple of days had been so blissfully wonderful with Ginny, that the pain had temporarily left him.

Open mouthed and shaking, he couldn’t seem to find a voice to join the conversation that was obviously taking place. He couldn’t hear anything over the strange buzzing noise in his ears. He shook his head to clear his senses and the voices of Ginny and Sirius came back into focus.

.”..like James. I was just taken back by it is all. I’m sorry for frightening you, Ginny.” Sirius had pocketed his wand and was sitting in a chair at their table. “If you want to see them, I’m sure they wouldn’t mind you dropping by tonight for a bit.”

“That would be fine, Sirius,” Harry was finally able to speak. “How far away do they live?”

“Not far, it’s just on the edge of town. I need to grab something from the drug store, then we can go.” He got up and started walking in the same direction he had been heading previously. Ginny and Harry followed, but Harry kept his pace slow until there was a small gap between himself and Sirius. Ginny noticed this and kept back with him.

“What is it Harry?” she whispered.

“What did you tell him about why we were looking for my parents? I was a little out of it back there,” he whispered back.

“Well, I told him that we were in England on a student exchange, and wanted to visit family. I didn’t mention exactly how you were related though.”

He grabbed her hand and pulled her closer. “You’re the best, Gin. I knew there was a reason I loved you.”

They caught up with Sirius, who was just about to the drug store, and waited outside while he got whatever it was that he needed. After that, they headed off into the residential section of town and came upon the street where Harry’s parents lived.

It was getting cooler now that the sun had gone down. There was still a tinge of red on the western horizon and several flying insects were about, flitting around the now lit streetlamps.

The Potter’s house was a diminutive, white, two-story home with a brick chimney on one side. It was situated on a small lot with several other houses around it. From what Harry could tell, the back yard butted up against a large field. The front yard had two large willow trees, whose branches hang lazily around them and must have provided a good bit of shade in the daytime. It was situated on a cul-de-sac a little to the right of center.

Sirius stopped just shy of the path that led to the front door and said, “Wait here for a minute, while I go and introduce you.” With that, he bounded up to the front door and knocked solidly until a head appeared. Harry fidgeted nervously as he tried to decipher who it was that answered the door. His right hand was firmly clasped with Ginny’s left and it was starting to sweat a little. She gave his hand a squeeze and pulled on it a little bit to get his attention.

“You’re gonna be fine, Harry. This is why we came and we can’t afford to blow our cover now, so try to stay calm.”

“I can’t help but be nervous. I mean...it’s my parents! This is the first time I’ve seen them since I was a baby.”

She leaned into him and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. “I love you Harry, and they will too.”

“Thanks, Gin. As long as you’re here for me, I reckon I can do anything.”

Sirius came back to them and motioned to follow. “Come on in. They said they would love to have some company.”

As they approached, Harry noticed that whoever answered the door was no longer there, but had retreated back into the house. Sirius held the door open for them as he and Ginny entered, still holding hands tightly. The smell of old wood and apples assaulted his nose. He could see that the house was happily decorated and held many photographs of people that had mostly bright red or black unkempt air. They continued into the parlor and were offered to sit in one of the two sofas.

“James is still at work, and Lily had to put the baby down for the night. She’ll be down in a minute,” Sirius filled them in.

“What does James do for a living?” Ginny asked him.

“He works for the Ministry. Department of Magical Law Enforcement,” his eyes twinkled as he said this. He was clearly proud that his best friend had become an Auror. “Where did you say you were going to school?”

“Beauxbatons. We’ve been living in France for about four years, but we were born in England.” Ginny was getting really good at lying and it was just a little bit disturbing to Harry.

“Ah, so you would know Professor LeCaits, then,” Sirius smirked at them and leaned back in his chair.

Ginny hesitated for a split second and then said, “Of course. She’s only the best Transfiguration teacher the school has ever had.”

“And her daughter is the prettiest girl on the continent.....” He propped his boots on the small table between them as he said this, and looked wistfully up at the ceiling.

“Sirius, are you boring them with your tales of conquest?” they heard Lily’s voice calling from upstairs. It was very feminine, with a tiny bit of Irish lilting in with the heavy Cockney accent.

She descended the stairs and caught her breath when she laid eyes on Harry’s face. Equally green eyes locked together as they appraised one another. Lily seemed to be searching for some familiarity in his face. Harry was carefully memorizing every laugh line, every shade of color in her hair and every curve of her face. This was his mother! His heart swelled and he felt light in his seat, as every emotion passed inside of him.

Lily shook her head a bit and continued down the stairs. “Sorry about that, it’s just...You look so familiar.” When she got to the end of the stairs where a hallway entered the parlor, Harry got up to catch her in a hug. Ginny was on her feet first though and extended her hand.

“Ginny Williams, nice to meet you.” Harry was glad she did this, because it would have been a bit awkward for him to throw himself into her arms as if he had known her for years, and had just returned from a long trip.

Lily approached her son and to Harry’s great surprise enveloped him in a hug. At first he was so shocked that he didn’t react at all, but then his senses returned, and he held onto her tightly. His mother was holding him! For the first time in his life, that he was aware of, he was actually hugging his mum! All too quickly however, she let him go and the embrace was over.

“And you must be James’ cousin.” She again caught him with a piercing gaze that seemed to search out his soul. He didn’t resist her probing eyes and for the second time in as many minutes, gladly soaked in the warmth that was looking at his real mother’s face.

“Yes, I’m Harry. Harry Potter.” He stepped back a little and watched her sit down on the love seat to the right of them.

“What a lovely name. Did you know that our son is named Harry?” She beamed at him as she said this.

“No, we didn’t,” piped in Ginny. “Do you have pictures of him?”

“Oh, yes. Would you like to see them?” She busied herself with getting the picture from the bureau in the hallway. Harry took this time to reflect on the fact that he was in his parent’s house. In fact, his infant self was upstairs right now, sleeping. How old was he now anyway? If the wish brought them back in time to the exact date they left, but to the year 1981, then he would be just a little bit older than one. Was he walking yet? Had he said his first word or flown on a broomstick with his dad? He had so many questions to ask, but didn’t know how to ask without arousing suspicion.

Ginny must have sensed his apprehension because she put her hand on his knee and began rubbing it in a reassuring fashion. He grabbed her hand and gave it a quick kiss. He looked into her eyes and smiled to let her know that it was going to be all right. She nodded and smiled with him.

Lily came back into the parlor with a photo album in her hand. “Here we are. These should have some of the most recent pictures.” She handed it to Harry who took it gingerly in his hands and placed it on his right knee so Ginny could see them as well.

As they looked through the pictures, Lily and Sirius continued to ask them questions about their schooling experience, their favorite subjects and how they liked being in England. If Harry hadn’t been so caught up in the feelings of being with his mum, he might have been suspicious of the line of questioning. As it was, neither Lily nor Sirius gave them reason to doubt their sincerity.

“Awww. Look at this one! He’s so cute....” Ginny gushed as they looked at a picture of Harry eating what appeared to be spaghetti. “Is he always this messy when he eats?”

Lily craned her neck to look at the picture they were talking about and shook her head. “Not normally. It seems that spaghetti is the only challenging food for little Harry.” She gave a little laugh and then sat back in the sofa. “Speaking of which, have any of you eaten?”

Sirius’ eyes seemed to light up when she said this. “I’m always up for your cooking, Lil.”

Harry and Ginny glanced at each other briefly and Harry added, “We don’t want to be a burden, but we’d be glad to have a bite of something.”

Lily nodded appreciatively and then went down the hall into what Harry reckoned was the kitchen. Harry looked at the clock on the wall and noticed that they had been there for over an hour and it was now past eight in the evening. He could hear the distant tinkling of glass as plates and cups were moved in the kitchen. Sirius was drowsily gazing at the window behind them and there was a small smirk of contentment on his face.

Ginny shifted in her seat next to Harry so that they were a little bit closer together and placed a hand on his leg. He caught it with his hand and rubbed her fingers absentmindedly. A chill ran up his spine and Ginny straightened up next to him. Then at once the feeling was gone, and Lily was returning with plates and glasses floating in front of her upturned wand.

“Sirius, get your feet off the table,” she scolded lightly as the plates and glasses came floating down onto the coffee table in front of them. Her face was scrunched in disapproval and she swatted his feet away before the dishes came to a rest.

“Excellent as usual, Lil,” Sirius said as he dove into the sandwiches and fruit laid out in front of them. Harry, whose thirst was suddenly overpowering, grabbed the mug in front of him and downed nearly all of it before he even tasted it. It was pumpkin juice but had a spicy flavor that was sweet and pleasant. The cup refilled itself automatically as he consumed his first sandwich in one bite. It was just like the sandwich tray McGonagall had conjured back in second year when he and Ron had crashed his father’s car into the Whomping Willow. Harry chuckled a little at the thought of telling his dad about that story but then remembered that he wouldn’t be able to.

Ginny it seemed, was equally ravenous and had devoured two sandwiches. She was working on a third but had yet to drink any juice. “Try the juice, Gin. It’s wonderful.” He smiled at her, suddenly very happy and a little bit sleepy. He guessed their walk today had finally caught up with him.

She looked over at him and Harry could barely discern a bit of concern in her eyes. He slumped down in his seat a little, and the sandwich in his hands dropped to the floor as the world around him clouded.

“Harry....” Ginny’s voice seemed distant and the concern was more noticeable. “What did you put in his juice?” Now accusation and a bit of anger was mixed in with the concern. Harry barely recognized the sounds of the front door opening roughly and angry voices before everything went black.

*

The sounds of muffled words began to penetrate his mind an hour later, as the world around him pierced the thick fog surrounding his senses. As the still incomprehensible voices grew louder, he tried to open his eyes but found that even the idea caused severe pain in his head. After a while, the pain began to subside and he was able to blink his eyes enough to see that he was in a white colored room, and that the world was too blurry for him to still have his glasses on. Finally, the voices became discernable.

“They’re clearly in love, James. I don’t think Death Eaters are capable of that.” A small part of Harry’s brain identified the voice as belonging to Sirius. He continued, “I’ve been watching them all evening and they just as smitten with each other as you and Lily. It’s actually kind of cute....”

“Oh shut it, Padfoot.” This was a new voice to Harry, but it seemed to be familiar to him somehow. “Malfoy’s been threatening me since we started Auror training and I’m not about to take chances with my family. Harry and Lily are more important than anything to me.”

Harry realized with a start that it was his dad that was speaking, and if he understood properly, his dad felt threatened because of him. He tried to move his arms, but they were still not working.

“Look, I understand how you feel James. I just think we need to figure out who they are and why they’re here. Then we can decide if they’re a threat.” Sirius’ voice was deep and compassionate. Harry had heard his voice sound like that before, when he had spoken to him in the fireplace in the Gryffindor common room during the Triwizard Tournament. Even through his cloudy thoughts, Harry could feel a prickle of sadness at hearing his voice.

James voice continued, “Dumbledore will be here in a minute with some Veritaserum. We can sort this out then.” With that, they left the room and Harry turned his head to try to gauge his surroundings.

He was in a medium sized room with a single door and was lying on a small bed next to the wall opposite the door. There was a chair next to the bed and he decided that Ginny was sitting in it but couldn’t figure out why she hadn’t said anything. Finally able to use his arms, he groped around the bed and found his glasses on the pillow and put them on.

Ginny was unconscious, it seemed, and was loosely tied to the chair in a manner that was designed to keep her sitting. He shook his head a little to clear the last vestiges of the sleeping potion and pulled his feet to the floor.

He shook Ginny a little to try to wake her up. “Ginny? Wake up.” He shook her a little more vigorously but her head merely lolled on the chair’s high back. Instead of trying to wake her up, he busied himself with the ropes that were holding her to the chair. After finally freeing her, he gently lifted her to the bed and laid her there, in the hopes that she would be all right.

Voices sounded outside the door and Harry instinctually grabbed for his wand. It wasn’t there so he sat on the foot of the bed and waited patiently.

The door burst open and he was faced with none other than Albus Dumbledore. He held a small vial of clear liquid in his hand and gazed keenly at the sight before him. Harry smiled at the not so old man before him, knowing that no matter what happened, he could trust Dumbledore. Entering behind him were Sirius, his father, and Remus Lupin.

“Ah, I see you have awoken.” Dumbledore moved slightly to allow the other men more room in the now crowded space. Harry noticed that his dad had his wand out but it was pointed at the ground.

Harry cleared his throat and said, “Hello Professor Dumbledore.” There was a stir on the bed as Ginny woke up and she moved to sit by Harry.

“James and Sirius have told me a very strange story about an exchange from Beauxbaton’s that dropped in to visit, unannounced.” His gaze grew sterner as he glanced from Harry to Ginny. “I, of course, immediately checked with the Headmistress there and discovered that there were no active exchange programs and there was no record of any Potters or Williams’ in attendance.” They continued to stare at Dumbledore with blank expressions and James visibly tensed behind him.

“Look Albus, I don’t see why we just don’t call the ministry now and have them questioned by the Department.”

Dumbledore raised his hand to stop him and said, “As I explained to your wife, there is something more here than what it appears. They are clearly not using Polyjuice, as it has been more than an hour since they arrived. Sirius’ foe glass has shown nothing on it since then either. And unless I am mistaken, Miss Williams here had to be stunned after you put Harry to sleep because she threatened to hex all of you.”

Harry glanced at Ginny and mouthed, “You did that?” She smiled weakly and nodded.

“She was supposed to be asleep anyway, but she didn’t drink the juice.” Lily had just walked in with messy-haired toddler in her arms. “I’m sorry we did that to you Ginny, but we just can’t be too careful.” She looked apologetic enough, that Harry’s heart leapt in his chest.

“Don’t worry about it. I guess I should have realized that we were being a little bit suspicious.”

Dumbledore nodded and said, “Indeed, and unfortunately those suspicions remain.” He pulled two letters from his pocket and held them out to Harry. “Read those, please.”

Harry took the letters from the professor and read the one on top.

Professor Albus Dumbledore,

Recent intelligence has alerted our office to someone performing underage magic in the vicinity of Northeast London. A sleeping charm was performed at approximately twenty-six after ten this morning on a Muggle bus.

We assume that the witch or wizard involved is attending Hogwarts and thought it best to alert you. Unfortunately, we have been unable to identify the person involved. Please attend to this problem immediately and advise our office when the person responsible for these actions has been identified.

Best wishes,

Grizelda Leitch

Improper Use of Magic Office

The second letter was similar to the first but indicated that a “Bruise Mending” charm was performed. Harry grew uneasier at the thought of being exposed for using underage magic. It never occurred to him that the Ministry would be able to detect him in this time.

Looking up at Dumbledore, Harry asked, “What’s going to happen to us?”

“I assume that these infractions under the ‘Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery’ were performed by you then?”

Harry nodded slightly and asked, “What must we do, Professor?”

“We need to ask you some questions under the influence of this serum. Then if your answers are satisfactory, we can allow you to go free. If not, then I’m afraid we will have to call the Ministry here to arrest you.”

Harry blanched. If they told them the truth about who they were, they would surely cause all sorts of time paradoxes. If they didn’t, they were bound for inquisition at the hands of the Ministry. He was about to speak, when Ginny spoke. “All right. We’ll answer any questions you have, truthfully. But only Professor Dumbledore can be here to listen.” She looked up at him pleadingly.

Dumbledore looked at the adults in turn and he waited until they had all nodded before turning back to Harry and Ginny. Then the room emptied, leaving the just the three of them inside. Dumbledore cast a silencing charm on the room and conjured a small, but elegant chair in the middle of the room. He motioned for Harry to sit and Harry complied.

Harry ran his hands through his hair, briefly revealing the scar on his forehead, and let out his breath. Ginny was watching him anxiously, but had put on a brave face for him.

“Now Harry, I want you to know that no matter what is said tonight, that it will stay between us three.” Harry nodded and he took the vial that was presented to him. “Just three drops, Harry.”

Harry tipped the vial over his extended tongue and let three drops hit its surface. Immediately, he felt his emotions drop away and the world became completely oblivious to him. All that mattered to him now, was that he would answer any question he heard with complete honesty.

Dumbledore’s voice broke the silence, “What is your name?”

“Harry James Potter,” his voice was monotone and devoid of feeling.

“Where do you live?”

“Number Four Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey.”

“Who are you traveling with?”

“Ginny Weasley.”

“Indeed, not Williams, eh? Is she related to Arthur and Molly Weasley?”

“Yes, she is their daughter.”

“Hmmm. What is your birthday?”

“July thirty-first, nineteen eighty.”

“And who are your parents?”

“James and Lily Potter.”

“Fascinating. This explains quite a lot.” He chuckled to himself before continuing.

“Finally Harry, how did you arrive here?”

“Ginny gave me a stone for my birthday. It fell out of Godric Gryffindor’s sword in the....” He continued to speak, but his voice was drowned out by Ginny’s quick interruption.

“Professor Dumbledore, let me answer that one please? Harry’s answer could cause problems for us. And you.”

“All right, Miss Weasley, please continue.”

“The stone was a wishing stone, one of Merlin’s wishing stones. We used it to make a wish to spend a week here in the past.”

“And why would you want to do that?”

Ginny’s voice became much quieter. “Harry wanted to visit his parents.”

There was a long silence until Dumbledore reached into his robes and produced a vial with a light blue liquid in it. He administered three drops to Harry and replaced it into his robes.

Harry shook his head and held it with his hands for a moment, as the strange feeling that the Veritaserum produced left his system.

“Well Miss Weasley, I must commend you on your discretion in having only myself involved in this interrogation.” His eyes were twinkling and Harry could detect a faint twitching under his beard.

“Harry,” Dumbledore continued. “I can probably guess why you wanted to see your parents, but I must impress upon your mind the importance of keeping the timeline intact. If anyone discovers who you really are, the results could be disastrous.

“I will explain to your parents that you are to be trusted and that they are not to question you further on who you are. They will undoubtedly be suspicious, but I’d like to think that I know then well enough to guess their intentions.

“How long will you two be here?”

“Five more days, Professor,” Ginny answered. “We wished to spend a week here, but it took us a couple of days to travel here,” she finished sheepishly.

He waved his wand to remove the silencing charm and said, “Wait here, while I go and talk to your father and mother. I’ll come back when they have accepted the situation.”

Dumbledore swept out of the room and closed the door behind him. Harry looked at Ginny with a new sense of respect after hearing what happened while he was asleep. “Gin, what happened after I was knocked out?”

“Oh, nothing much. I saw you fall off the sofa and then went nutters.” She rolled her eyes as she said this. “James crashed in the front door and stunned me without a word. Next thing I knew, I was lying on the bed. Then Dumbledore came in.” She removed her shoes and winced a little as they came off.

“I’m sorry you were stunned, Ginny. We’re lucky they didn’t do anything worse to us, though.” She was massaging her feet, but had not taken off her socks. “Here Gin, let me do that.”

Reluctantly, she put her feet in his lap and let him take her socks off. “She muffled a cry as they cleared her heel. “What’s wrong? Is your foot okay?” Harry turned her foot gingerly to the side and saw a gaping hole in the heel of her foot.

He gasped and said, “Why didn’t you tell me about this? Look at it, it’s bleeding and everything.”

“It’ll be fine, Harry. I’m a big girl remember? I can take care of myself.” She pulled her foot away from him and put her sock back on.

“Obviously,” he muttered under his breath. She sent an accusing look at him but didn’t carry it any further.

Dumbledore returned and motioned for them to follow him. “They have agreed to see things from my perspective.” Harry and Ginny followed him out the door to face the Potters, Sirius and Remus.