A Sound of Wonder

"Promise to owl," Katie choked, and hugged her friend tightly.

"Of course," Angelina assured her. "I'll come and visit too, by Floo Powder if I can." Finally the girls broke contact. Meanwhile, beside them, their boyfriends, Fred and Lee, respectively, did an awkward male-hug, before eventually going in for the real thing.

Fred was starting a joke shop with his twin, George, while Angelina and Lee were going off to college in London. Angelina hadn't been away from Katie, or her other best friend, Alicia, since the first year Katie had come to Hogwarts. Katie knew eventually Angie would have to go, and she had been dreading the day. But what will come will come.

Katie was insanely jealous; at least Fred and Angelina would be in London together, while she'd be away from Lee for who knows how long. He kept insisting he'd come by Floo Powder as Angelina had, but she wasn't entirely convinced. If he really loved her, he'd stay, right?

Of course he loves you, a voice in her head told her.

"Of course I love you," Lee told her, as he took her hands just outside Hogwarts. "I'm sorry, love, I have to go now though. Orientation's at 8. Love you." He kissed her and Apparated. Fred and Angelina followed suit and Katie felt very much alone as she trudged back to the castle.

~~~

"Welcome to Albus Dumbledore Wizarding College," began a man behind a podium, who was probably the Headmaster. He had brown hair down to his navel, and wore a suit (without a tie), though underneath he had a T-shirt with words on it. When he moved around, Angelina could see it said, "Don't Be Afraid to Disrespect Authority." He had introduced himself as Professor Federer. "As you can tell, this is the first Wizarding College in not only the nation of Britain, but the whole wizarding world. This is an entirely new idea recently thought up by none other than this school's namesake himself. Keep in mind this is just a test run.

"The curriculum here is basically the jobs that you can obtain as an adult, anything from a job at the Ministry to a Quidditch player. Your only subject is that of your major. You may also choose a minor if you wish. So, for those who aren't so quick--" He looked up from his card for a minute--"This means that you have lots of free time, because you only have a few classes, one at the very least. One of the advantages of Wizard College compared to Muggle College." There were a few sneers in the crowd. "Obviously, this will continue from your school studies, so you will continue to learn spells in these classes, depending on what your chosen subject is."

Angelina whispered to Lee, "He obviously doesn't realize that he's authority."
"Actually, Miss Johnson--" he glanced at her name tag, "I'm the music teacher. The Headmaster gave me a speech card to read to you. So I'm not authority." he opened his suit to reveal the words to anyone who hadn't seen. "Anyway," he continued, but winked at Angelina, "the speech card is--done, so don't break the rules, yada yada yada, and remember, if anyone's having any frat parties--" The students held their breath--"count me in!" The students cheered, Lee and Angelina included.

"So what're you going to major in?" Lee asked Angelina as they walked back to their individual dorms.

"Dunno," Angelina mused, lost in her thoughts. After a pause, she added, "I think it'd be nice to be a Quidditch player, but no doubt it's really difficult to get a spot on the team."

"Wow," Lee said. "It'd be cool if you did."

"Yeah," Angelina agreed.

"I would know a professional Quidditch player," Lee said triumphantly. Angelina punched him lightly for it. "No, seriously, it's a great job. You're good enough for it."

"Aww, thanks. You could be a Quidditch commentator," Angelina said seriously.

"Me?" Lee said, as if there was anyone else she could be talking to. "Nah. It's a really hard job to get. You'd have to be somewhat famous anyway, like Bagman, the dirty rat he is."

"It also helps if you're a dirty rat," Angelina joked. Lee stuck out his tongue, and abruptly turned into his dorm, still with his tongue out, making Angelina laugh.

"Later," she yelled at the closing door. Hmm, she thought as she walked towards her dorm. It seems okay so far; at least I have one friend here already. Out of the teachers I've met...well, one...he seems decent. Hopefully my teachers will be as nice. She had reached her dorm. Her roommate wasn't there, and she was kind of tired. I'll just rest my--Conk.

~~~

The next morning, Angelina woke feeling very refreshed, but also a bit confused. She saw her roommate--a redhead sprawled out on a bed nearby. She was wearing what didn't look like pajamas and Angelina saw a joint on her nightstand. "Eesh," she muttered, and got ready just a little bit faster than she would have normally. As she wrestled her curls up off her neck, something caught her eye that hadn't been there before. It was a timetable. Now that she thought about, this was pretty useful. She laughed at herself for forgetting. The redhead stirred dangerously, and Angie nearly sprinted out of the room.

The timetable read:

QUIDDITCH PRACTICE

Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday

Professor Ginepri

5:00pm-7:00pm

QUIDDITCH THEORY

Wednesday and Friday

Professor Clijsters

2:00pm-4:00pm

She noted that they had known what she wanted before she had even told anyone anything. Pretty impressive. She met up with Lee at a café near the college. He was there first, and had just sent an owl off. "Who was that?" she asked.

"Katie," he said. "She just called to say hi; she had to run. Leeshy Pooh says hi too." Leeshy Pooh was what Lee called Alicia, much to her annoyance. He was the only one who could get away with calling her that, just because he'd been doing it for so long. It was the kind of thing where if anyone else said it, it wouldn't seem right. Even George, her boyfriend, couldn't pull it off, which was something that irked him to this day.

"We?" Angelina asked. "Well, thanks for asking," she half-joked.

"Oh don't pretend you're upset about seeing your best friend." Lee gave her a look, and she had to admit he had a point. "Did you get your timetable?"
"Yeah. I didn't even say what I wanted, but it just gave it to me. Pretty cool, right?"
"I guess. What've you got?"

"Quidditch practice and theory."

"My little obsessive girl," Lee cooed, and Angie rolled her eyes, but didn't comment. "My roommate got one--his name's Jack, he's a bit odd," he mused, and seemed to go off until his own little world for a moment. "Anyway," he shook himself out of his trance, "he got his. But I didn't get mine yet."

"Well, you haven't really decided on a major, have you?" Angelina said. Just as the words were off her tongue, a piece of parchment appeared next to Lee, which had a list of the majors and minors you could choose. He studied it closely, before finally throwing up his hands and leaning back in his chair. "There's nothing."

"Lemme see," Angelina coaxed, and took it from him. "Would you be interested in--uh...Ministry work?" He just stared at her. "Okay, moving on--Housewi--no..." Lee actually laughed that she had bothered to read that out loud. "There's always music..." Lee made a face.

"What? The teacher's cool. And besides, if you make it in music, and get in a band, whatever, you'll be famous, right? And if you're famous--"

"I can become a Quidditch commentator!" Lee's chest swelled to an enormous size.

"Yes, Lee, good job, I'm so glad you got there," Angelina said in baby talk. Lee swatted her away, too excited to care too much. "So, you happy?"
"Yes, Johnson...Johnson with the Quaffle, zooms up and down masterfully, quick pass to Muffleupagus on the left, and Muff is hit with a Bludger! Not nice there, Shikipoo with the pass--and Johnson with an amazing interception!" He imitated this in the air, but Angelina pretended she didn't know him. People nearby just laughed, to her relief. When he finally bounced back into his chair, she was laughing too. "A little excited there?" she said sarcastically.

"Just a tad," he measured with his fingers as his timetable appeared. "Yess!"

MUSIC FOR THE VERY DIMWITTED

Thursday and Friday

Professor Federer

2:00pm-3:00pm

PLAYING INSTRUMENTS

Monday and Friday

Professor Federer

5:00pm-7:00pm

"Nice," Angelina said as it appeared. "Federer for both! You better like him, or you're screwed," she said bluntly.

"Thanks," he smirked.

~~~

On Thursday, Lee met Angelina after she had finished practice. "How was it?" he asked without a trace of a greeting.

"Hard," she began. "Hard but fun. There are about six other Chasers there, ten Seekers, a few beaters, and maybe five Keepers. Most of the Seekers aren't that great, but the Keepers are tough. Very cool, though. The teacher's cool, too." Lee was squealing throughout this whole thing as though he'd die if he couldn't tell her how his day was.

"Great," Lee said. "Anyway! So, I haven't actually played any instruments (that's tomorrow), but so far, it's bitchin! The teacher, obviously, is cool, but it's a whole new world! My only problem is I can't decide what instrument to play! I mean, there's guitar, which would probably mean lead vocals, and that's wicked, obviously then there's the bass, which I'm not so keen on--" Angelina smiled, of course, Lee had to be the center of attention--"But the drums just seem so cool! And--"

"Play the guitar, Lee," Angelina encouraged. "You'll probably have the most fun. I don't think you'd like being a drummer or a bassist. Who knows? Maybe you can sing." Lee pretended to look offended at that, but it didn't work; he was too caught up in everything that had happened that day. After a pause, she added, "So, you up for clubbing?"

"No problem," he said, without hesitating.

~~~

When they reached the club, Lee freaked out a bit. "Ang," he murmured. "I'm not sure I like it here."

"Aw, come on," Angelina shouted over the music. "You're a celebrity now, you have to learn these things. It's in your nature." Lee didn't bother to point out he was nowhere close to being a celebrity.

"Ang, I have a girlfriend. I don't like this kind of scene. I don't wanna become the guy who cheats and clubs when his girlfriend's far away."

This made Angelina snap back into reality. "I'm sorry, you're right," she said. "Just let me have one drink. You don't have to talk to anybody you don't want to. You can pretend you're with me, kay?" Lee made a face at her, but she was already at the bar. "Barkeep, give me three Firewhiskeys!" she said with a gleam in her eye. The bartender said nothing, but solemnly reached down and handed them over briefly. She gave him some silver and Lee looked worried.

"Ang, it's Thursday. Are you sure you should be--"

"Whooooo!" she yelled. In the corner, she saw a flash of red--but no, it couldn't be. Do I dare hope for Fred? "Fred!" she called. He turned and smiled broadly.

"Angie! My Angie!" he bellowed. "Come here, Angie!" She obliged, with Lee following behind her. "Angie, meet Johnny MacIntyre. Johnny, Angie Johnson. My--my woman." She smacked him on the arm.

"What? Oh, sorry. My girlfriend," he corrected himself. "And this is my best friend, Lee Jordan. Lee! Lee, hi!" he shook his hand awkwardly."

Johnny seemed to be the only one who wasn't at least somewhat drunk.

"Fred," Lee began. "I'm not comfortable here. What about Katie?" Fred ignored him.

"Hey, uh--What was your name? Ama--Ang--" Johnny spoke to Angelina. He was a tall Scot, and he looked, in a word, rough around the edges. She got the feeling he was one of those people who was always impatient.

"I'm Angelina," said Angelina.

"Right, right, I need to talk to you for a second. You seem like a trustworthy person," he said, though she was wobbling and was onto her second bottle of Firewhiskey.

"O--kay," she said slowly and followed him. Lee was looking a little worried, Fred noticed.

"Listen to me carefully," said Johnny when they had gotten far enough away. He produced a small bottle from out of his pocket. "Take this quickly. Drink it. No no, don't worry. It's nothing bad, it's just a--"

"Where am I?"

"Sobering Potion. Anyway, I have a very important deal to make with you. I understand you previously went to school with a one Harry Potter, and had some sort of connection with him."

"Yeah, I guess you could say that," she said suspiciously.

"Right, well, I need you to take this also--" he took a tiny hourglass out of his pocket, tapped it with his hand, and it grew to be about a foot tall. "You were also involved in something called 'Dumbledore's Army,' am I correct?"

"How do you know all this?" she asked.

"So you are involved in the Order of the Phoenix indirectly..." He was talking to himself more than to her.

"What?"

"And your boyfriend, Fred is involved too?"

"What?"

"Is your boyfriend Fred Weasley?" he asked very slowly, as if he was talking to someone very stupid.

"Yes," she said equally slowly. "But what is going on here? What's the Order of the Phoenix?"

"The Order of the Phoenix is a resistance group against You-Know-Who. They were working during the first war and now are working during the second. Harry Potter and the Weasley family are part of it. What they don't know is the entire Weasley family is in very grave danger right now, including Percy. If I get a Weasley for this job, it will only make it worse. So I've chosen you and your friend--"

"Lee?"

"Boy with the dreadlocks? Yes, him. To go on a special mission for the Order of the Phoenix."
"But why us? Why not an Auror or something?"
"This idea isn't a new one," he said. "You-Know-Who has long suspected things like this, and if a child--or, sorry, teenager, goes back in time, it'll look much less suspicious."
"Why am I supposed to believe you?" she asked. "I met you in a bar for Merlin's sake, and now you're telling me I'm on a mission for the Order of the Phoenix, who I'd never heard of until right now? For all I know you could be a Death Eater."

He had obviously prepared for this, because he answered immediately. "Two reasons." He lifted up the sleeve of his shirt to reveal a blank forearm. "No Dark Mark." She still looked skeptical, so he reached into the folds of his jacket, and pulled out a worn photograph that was black and white, but the images were still moving. Its edges were old and one was ripped off, but she recognized a few faces. First she recognized the Potters; then Mad-Eye Moody, who had once been her Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, though he had been an imposter. She saw Dumbledore when he was younger, and tears filled her eyes. Another was Remus Lupin, and yet another was Sirius Black. The subtitle read, "The Order of the Phoenix."

"What is this supposed to mean?" she asked, sniffing.

"Well," he tapped it with his wand, and muttered "Revelus," and a whole different picture appeared. These faces she didn't recognize. But after a minute, she realized she did recognize three. Two were next to each other, and looking very much in love. One was a curly haired woman, with an ear-to-ear grin, and a man with an Afro was next to her, with an arm around her, and he occasionally kissed the woman on the cheek. Dumbledore was also in the picture.

"My parents," she smiled, and gazed at the subtitle, which read, "The Order of the Phoenix's Founders." But it quickly turned into a frown. "Why haven't they told me?" she wondered.

"I wouldn't know," said Johnny, "but can I make a guess?" She nodded, still inspecting the picture. "It's probably because they wanted to wait to tell you when you were older, but now I think it's best that I tell you. So, are you ready?"
"What, now?" she finally met his eyes.

"No, next Sunday," he scolded her. "Yes, now. The sooner the better before anything gets worse."

"Wait a minute," Angelina was frustrated now, "you haven't even told me what I'm doing, what we're doing."

"Angelina, think. Have you ever seen one of these before?" He picked up the hourglass. She shook her head. "It's called a Time-Turner. It turns back time," he added, in case she didn't understand that as well, "one turn is worth about three hours, but if you turn it back five times very quickly, one turn becomes worth a year. From there, you just go back in years. Now, take this, I'm trusting you know the spell to shrink--" she nodded, "explain it to your friend."

"Wait!" Angelina called. "What am I supposed to do? How far do I go back and what do I do?"

"Your job is to change history. You want to stop You-Know-Who, for the most part, but you do NOT, repeat, do NOT, want to stop anything from happening that gave Harry Potter the scar. Otherwise, it could go horribly wrong and he wouldn't have been the boy who lived, but just 'the poor boy that died, just like every other person You-Know-Who went after.' Understand?" Again she nodded, but didn't look quite so sure of this. She walked slowly back to Lee, as Johnny departed.

"What was that about?" Lee asked, still looking nervous. "You were a long time."

"Big news," she continued.

"Sobering Potion?" Lee asked. She nodded.

"I have something to tell you," she said. "Something huge. Get Fred and let's get out of here." She felt the shrunken Time-Turner's bulge in her pocket as Lee grabbed the inebriated Fred and they eagerly left the club.

The night had not gone exactly as either of them had planned.