Our Past, Your Future

Methought I heard a voice cry 'Sleep no more!

MacBeth does murder sleep,' the innocent sleep,

Sleep that knits up the raveled sleave of care,

The death of each day's life, sore labour's bath,

Balm of hurt minds, great nature's second course,

Chief nourisher in life's feast-

(MacBeth- Act 2, Scene 2)

Chapter two

The Great Hall was packed with students waiting with baited breaths for the first years to enter on their yearly precession. In all Harry's experience at Hogwarts, he had never seen the Great Hall so full. As he looked around the Hall, something caught his eye. Draco Malfoy was acting strangely. Harry had noticed this on the train--after Malfoy's encounter with James. Draco was looking around him like a frightened rabbit. His eyes were large; his hair was no longer gelled (not that it had been on the train), but hung in great strands around his face. It looked like a frightening realization had descended upon him. He looked like he was condemned to death. Harry knew something was wrong, but Harry's dislike of Draco was to strong for him to care. Just then, before Harry's frosty attitude to Draco started to fade, Professor McGonagall entered with a long line of first years. Each one looking terrified. Harry groaned inwardly. The sorting ceremony seemed to take longer than usual, but then a name caught Harry's attention- 'Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington.'

The boy called Nicholas stumbled forward. He had copper colored hair, and shining blue eyes. His face was an uncanny copy of Nearly Headless Nick's. Every Gryffindor shot looks in Nearly Headless Nick's direction, each one of them wearing a puzzled expression. As if to answer their unasked questions he said to those nearest him: -

"Yes, he is a descendent of mine. I do hope he doesn't end up like his Aunt Eleanor. Only Slytherin in the family. An utter shame really. Such a lovely boy. Quite like his mother."

The young Nicholas seemed to sit on the stool for an age, but then the hat shouted 'Gryffindor' to a tremendous uproar. He stumbled to a seat between Harry and Nearly Headless Nick, a huge smile lighting up his features. He seemed to brim with barely controlled energy.

"Hey Nick!" he piped upon seeing the Gryffindor ghost.

"Well, hello there Nicholas! And how are you this day?" said Nearly Headless Nick with a wave of his elegant hand.

Young Nicholas looked around him at the older students. He gasped when he saw Harry's scar, a look of shock registered on his small face. Harry grinned- it looked like another person would be joining Colin Creevey's Harry Potter fan club.

****

That night Draco Malfoy could not sleep. He paced around the common room, his nerves on end. Only one thing could calm him down. Deep down he thanked his nanny. His parents were always so busy with important engagements that they had hired a nanny from a pure blood family in the US to look after him. Unknown to them, she was a 'muggle lover.' She taught him many things about the muggle world, including music. Aoife loved music in all forms, but her particular favorite was classical music. She taught Draco to play the violin and the cello, and they had played music from such composers as Mozart and Beethoven so often that Draco now knew them off by heart. Opening his trunk, Draco withdrew a small package. His cello and violin and cello were shrunk magically so his father and mother would not find them. He also withdrew some parchment. This particular parchment was centuries old, and had been passed sown in the Malfoy family for generations. The power within the parchment could tell the person operating it truths about the time they were living in, and so help them choose what was deemed the right path for them

Making his way to a spot overlooking the courtyard, Draco started smiling. He was on a road of defiance against his father. Dressed in muggle clothing, he would have been a strange sight to younger students. The gray hooded sweatshirt and baggy tracksuit bottoms and runners felt comfortable- so different to the robes he was so used to. In a way he had grown to hate anything that reminded him of his parents.

When he reached the spot overlooking the courtyard, he began to play. It was a melancholy tune, one of deepest grief, for Draco was tired of life. He was tired of having to pretend that he was someone that he wasn't. He was tired of trying to please his father and mother all the time. He was a good actor- he had learned young what behavior kept his parents in a good mood, and he played that card as often as possible. A vibration rippled through the air startling Draco. Draco knew what it meant, even if he had never felt it before, and he knew whom this vibration refereed to. With a sense of satisfaction, Draco sank back into his music ~ maybe something interesting had happened after all. Draco was so absorbed in his playing that he did not notice Luna Lovegood watching him.

****

Luna was fascinated with Draco. He was a mystery to her. She had two very distinct gifts. One was the ability to tell what sort of person someone was and the other was the ability to see the future ~ or at least certain events as a basic law of time stated that 'the future, bar some major events which are necessary, is undecided'. She could see that Draco was not the person he showed to the world. He was a Gryffindor, mascarading as a Slytherin. Watching him she sensed that he had a deep fear, but that he kept it locked up tight but she could see it. He was denying his true self for the pride of his family. Just as she was about to leave, Draco turned and saw her. What little colour was in his face drained. He looked as if he had just been hit with a stunning curse.

Regaining some of his composure he managed to sneer "What are you doing here Lovegood? Isn't traffic from the moon hectic at this time of night Or are you spying for the love you can never have- Mr. Harry Potter?"

Luna was stunned by Draco's statement. In reply she answered: "How do you know that Harry and I aren't having a thing on the side?"

"Didn't you feel the vibration a few minutes ago?" Draco asked, alarmed.

Luna nodded- yes she had felt the vibration.

"Don't you know to what it refers to?" Draco pushed on.

Luna shook her head.

"This vibration refers to soul mates. People who are destined to be together forever. I know about these things- my grandfather taught me. If I'm not mistaken these soul mates have just claimed their love for each other."

****

Far below Draco and Luna sat Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley. Both had just claimed their love for each other. If the love between soul mates was obvious to the human eye it would take generations of poets all their lives to try and describe it, and they would have only scratched the surface.

****

With this exclamation Draco collapsed. His great fear overwhelmed him. Luna ran to him, and holding him in her arms, she realized what the fear was- that he would never see the end of the war, that he would never live to have children and that the Malfoy name would die with him.

"Am I cursed? Why do I have to have this weight upon me? Why am I destined to be the last of my family? Is it penance for some sin that I committed that made God strike down my brother to leave the burden of the family name on my shoulders?" Draco asked, sobbing gently.

Luna was amazed- Draco had a brother? She looked at the sobbing figure in her arms and she felt sorrow for him. Suddenly she noticed the piece of parchment that Draco was carrying had started glowing gold and silver. Draco had noticed it as well and he scrambled towards it. With trembling hands he opened it. Writing had suddenly appeared on the worn surface. Draco and Luna read with awe the following words:

Tonight, two lovers meet,

In the moonlight they shall greet,

The future in all its wonder,

And their love shall nay fall asunder.

But be ware, read the sign's,

That shows great events of our times.

Evil will rise,

But a supporter will wear a 'guise,

Trust these rhymes,

He shall beguile the times,

His future is secure, though he knows not yet,

The lover he has meet.

For they are the second couple of soul mates,

And they shall open the gates,

Of Fellowship and might,

And through a woman a doughtier will see,

The Might his son's will have, through her foresight.

Tonight two fathers will be reunited with their sons.

The trio will remain,

And through them, their new friends will have great gain.

Draco and Luna were stunned with this revelation. Draco managed to stutter out- "W-w-e better get back to our dorm's before someone finds us."

"Why? Is the great Draco Malfoy afraid of the teachers? Can mummy not bribe them for you? Who knows, you might get caught by Snape!" said Luna sarcastically, meaning it to hurt.

"What you don't understand, is that this parchment can predict things. It's an old family heirloom, passed through the generations. It was used to predict who would be the best family line for a Malfoy to marry into. It has never acted like this before to the best of my knowledge. Maybe it's a sign of things to come, who knows?"

"Well, to the best of your knowledge, what does it mean?" Luna demanded.

Draco sneered, then said- "Exactly what it says. I was right, the traffic from the moon is very bad. My goodness, how do you exist in this world?"

And with that he took of in a swagger of a walk, without waiting for a reply. Luna looked up at the sky. The stars of the Milky Way blazed overhead like some beautiful dream. Luna shivered slightly. True, the night was warm, but something about the look on Draco's face disturbed her. He looked shocked and hurt, and that was understandable, but for the first time since she had seen him all those years ago- he looked human- hurt and alone and vulnerable.

****

As was predicted Luna received a vision that night. It was of a boy of fourteen, with fair hair and marvelous dark eyes, he had an athletic build- but it wasn't imposing. He had a generous mouth, and Draco Malfoys face, but unlike Draco's there was a certain kindness radiating from it. Suddenly another boy joined him. He was slightly younger, but with the same fair hair. His eyes were a deep, dark blue, and his eyes reminded Luna of her fathers. The boys seemed to be related in some way, but Luna couldn't say how. They both had the same smile- and the same happy, devil-may-care attitude bubbled from them. Then the vision began to fade and Luna sank back into a deep sleep, but the thoughts of these two boys stayed with her- a happy memory to tell Draco.

****

Ginny Weasley never felt so happy in all her life. Lying on an overly soft bed in the room of requirement with Harry, she realized for the first time how lucky she was. Harry was kind, handsome (in a scruffy sort of way) and he held inner warmth that was amazing- it just took a little work to find it. She rolled over and put her head on his shoulder, running her hand over his chest. Looking up at his face, she sighed. He looked so at peace. He had shown more of himself to her this summer than ever before, and she quickly realized that, surprisingly, Harry was jealous of Ron. Harry was jealous of the warm family unit Ron had. Ginny realized that for all his fame, wealth, and other ability's, Harry missed the one thing Ginny took for granted- family and it broke her heart.

Harry broke Ginny's line of thought when he said- "We better get back to Gryffindor tower, or else Ron will get suspicious of us."

"Get suspicious of what?" Ginny asked playfully. "That his best friend is doing his sister? Not likely. Ron hasn't even figure out the hints Hermione has been dropping him since third year."

Harry smiled at her statement. Ginny had a point. But they still had to get back. Hermione definitely would figure something out, even if Ron didn't.

****

James was contently playing a game of wizarding chess with Ron- as usual Ron was winning. Not long after Harry arrived back with Ginny, James went to bed, making some long winded excuse to leave, but when he reached the staircase, Harry saw him link arms with Lavender Brown. Harry smiled. It had taken James all of a minute to convince Lavender that they should be dating- a record by any standards, and on the first night back from summer holidays. Wait until Fred and George heard this.

Harry was just sitting down to play chess with Ron when James re-appeared holding a letter and what looked like a silver and gold time turner.

"What's that?" asked Ginny, pointing to the letter.

"A letter saying this time turner was my fathers" answered James slowly

The letter itself was written in loopy, old-fashioned writing.

Dear James,

Your father left this in my care, with specific instructions. Tough I am weary of what this will do, your father said all you had to do was place a drop of blood into the hollow at the top of the time turner. It was a safety precision set out by your family to make sure no one outside the family could inherit it. Please use it well. Be careful, as this is no ordinary time turner, as it goes back years into the past, or a spell can be cast one year, that when it is operated will bring the caster (or a number of people) to that particular time, even if it is years in the future. Remember- don't mess with time by trying to revoke such a spell- go with the flow of things, you might enjoy it.

Yours sincerely,

Remus Lupin.

James looked puzzled at this statement. He read and re-read the letter again and again.

"What does he mean 'go with the flow of things'? What is there to go along with?" he inquired, a puzzled look on his face.

He was meet with silence. He sank down into an armchair and drew out his wand, and to the horror of the younger students, he said an incantation, which opened a wound on his hand. He allowed the blood to into the hollow on top of the time turner. When several drops had fallen, the time turner glowed a brilliant orange, which faded slowly. James then healed his hand with a quick wave of his wand.

"That's that I suppose," James said, grinning from ear to ear. "Now if you excuse me, I have a female friend to attend to."

When no one was looking, he slipped Harry a note. Harry was puzzled until he read the contents.

'Harry, I know it's early in the year, but I have several ideas for creating trouble. (Thank you Fred and George). But one will take a lot of time. How about you, Ron, Hermione Ginny and me take a leaf out of our father's book and learn how to transform into animals? Then our trouble would increase ten-fold. Don't worry about the complexity of it, it's easy- I've seen people do it. Have faith.'

Harry had to laugh- a deep guttural laugh that attracted the attention of everyone in the common room. This note reminded him so much of Sirius that he couldn't help but laugh. The similarities between father and son were becoming more apparent every day. (To him at the very least).

When Hermione heard Harry laugh she looked up very quickly. It had been so long since she had heard Harry laugh that it came as a shock to her. God, he looked so handsome sitting there laughing, with Ginny curled up beside him. This scene looked so right- Harry and Ginny with their arms around one another. They looked so happy- so utterly content that it seemed impossible that the prophecy Harry had told them about could come true.

****

Far down on the grounds three figures had appeared out of thin air. To be precise- three boys appeared out of thin air. They were young and two of them bore an uncanny resemblance to Harry Potter and James Black. The third boy looked like a younger version of Remus Lupin. But no one was around to see them. They were stunned by what had happened. One of their number- namely the tallest one with the shoulder length black/ dark brown hair- had just completed an incantation over a family heirloom as a joke that was meant to carry them into the future if the blood of his children was inserted into the hollow on top of the heir loom. They looked shocked. None of the people who were meant to be witnessing this event were around. They had all vanished. Then realization dawned on them. The spell had worked. The realization had hit like a thunderbolt.

"Um, guys, I don't think we are in our own time any more," said Remus, sounding both nervous and excited.

Both James and Remus looked at Sirius in disbelief. He had sworn bitterly that nothing would happen to them- that it was just a stupid incantation he had picked up from his grandfather, there was no harm in them, and it was perfectly safe. Or so he had thought. For the first time since they had become friends, both James and Remus saw Sirius go pale. He had laughed at most of the dares which would have made most people go pale if they were confronted with them- walk around the school nude, put a stink bomb under their potions teacher, strut around the girls bathroom in your boxer shorts or setting fanged Frisbee's of in Transfiguration. Sirius looked around him slowly as if expecting someone to tell him that this was all a bad dream. But there was no one there. But a voice did ring out- the stern voice of Professor McGonagall.

"Mr. Potter and Mr. Black, what are you doing out of Gryffindor tower at this hour of the night?"

Sirius, James and Remus turned to face their teacher. But they got a shock. She looked older than they remembered- there were definitely a lot more gray hairs than there were earlier in the afternoon. As for Professor McGonagall's part, when she examined the boys she noted differences. Harry's nose was too long, there was no scar and his eye's were hazel. As for James- his shoulders were to narrow and his hair was darker. But when she examined the third boy realization hit her. This was surly a younger Remus Lupin. Putting two and two together as only Professor McGonagall could, she figured out the whole story. Shocked as she was, she managed to form a plan.

"We are going to see Professor Dumbledore!" she said promptly, knowing the shocked reaction she would receive.

(To be continued.)