Work Text:
The ones we love never leave us completely
Harry sighs softly as his head sinks onto the pillow, the cloak and blanket pulled over his head. He doesn't want his friends to see him. Not like this. Tears, wet and silent, drip into the fabric. He can't get Dumbledore's words out of his head. He has found his godfather today and learned that his teacher was a friend of his father. But the pain stabs at his heart. He misses his family. James. Lily. Mother. Father. Why did all this have to happen? Why can't he just be with them? Harry is dizzy. The world around him is spinning. Not just from the intense feelings. He feels a little sick as present and past mix inside him. An after-effect of time travel, as Dumbledore explained to him. Hermione may be fine with it, but he obviously can't handle it properly. Another sigh and Harry closes his eyes, trying to sleep a little, despite the wild longing that burns in him. Finally, exhaustion overcomes him and he dozes off, the desire to see his family again his last thought. His eyes no longer see the lights suddenly glittering under the cloak of invisibility...
~*~
"Hey, Moony, you sleepyhead, wake up! Prongs and Wormtail are already downstairs!"
Drowsily, Harry lifts his eyelids. The voice seems vaguely familiar, penetrating his still dozy consciousness without him understanding the words properly. But it is not Ron. And not Neville either. Or Dean.
Harry blinks cautiously from under the blanket without taking off his cloak. At the bed opposite, at the other end of the room, a black-haired boy he doesn't know laughingly pulls the blanket off the bed of another, brown-haired stranger. Harry frowns in confusion. Then suddenly it flashes through him like a lightning bolt. Moony, Wormtail, Prongs and, of course, Padfoot. Sirius! And Remus! The boys are Sirius and Remus. But it can't be!
Harry is immediately on his feet. Quietly, stealthily and barefoot, he follows the boys down the stairs, his cloak pulled tightly around him.
The common room is a hustle and bustle. Students from all year groups are getting ready to leave for breakfast in the Great Hall. Harry looks for the two boys and his heart leaps for joy when he finds them talking to two other boys. Suddenly Harry feels as if he is looking into a mirror image. One of the boys looks exactly like him. Prongs. James. His father, he has found his father! Tears almost flood Harry's eyes again, but this time it's from joy. As his eyes continue to wander around the room, he suddenly meets green, almond-shaped eyes like his own and red hair frames a lovely face. Lily! Lily, his mother, is here too.
For a moment, Harry can't believe his luck. But then suddenly reality breaks in on his thoughts. Why is he here? Here with his parents and their friends? Is this all a strange dream, or... or?
Harry waits patiently and as quiet as a mouse until the common room has emptied before stepping out into the corridor. He needs to find a teacher, an adult. Someone who can help him solve this riddle. Harry wanders desperately through the corridors until he suddenly sees a tall figure in the next corridor. He exhales with relief. He recognizes this pale blue robe from ten miles away.
"Professor Dumbledore!" Harry shouts and throws the cloak of invisibility off him. A much younger principal turns to him and frowns.
"Indeed I am," he explains, "But you, my boy, I have never seen here before. But since you are wearing the uniform of this school, which is protected by powerful spells, and you seem to know me, I assume that a very strange story has led you to me."
"Indeed," Harry replies, "I am Lily Evans and James Potter's son, from the future."
The eyes above the half-moon glasses widen abruptly.
"Come with me to my office! And put on the cloak of invisibility," Dumbledore declares, walking down the corridor.
~*~
After a cup of tea and three lemon drops in the circular office, Harry feels a little better. Silence fills the air. He has talked a lot to tell his story. But now his head is empty. Dumbledore, meanwhile, has put his fingers together and is looking at him with a thoughtful expression.
"Ah, time is truly a mystery. Natural laws of its own magic are at work here," he finally replies, looking at Harry with concern. "So the future holds many a tragedy and at the same time many a miracle for us. But let us turn to your problem."
Harry listens attentively.
"It seems to me, my dear boy, that your little journey through time has messed up your magic a little. Sometimes this happens and can have the strangest side effects. In other words, you must have made a leap in time due to a magical accident. I also think that your longing for your family played a part in this incident."
Harry swallows. But before he can ask the question that is burning on his tongue, Dumbledore speaks up again.
"To bring you back to your own time, I think it will be enough to give you a little rest. At midnight, the magical currents are at their strongest and the gates between the times are permeable. If you have cured yourself by then, it is likely that your magic will return you to your own time. I am very sure of it. Until then, take a look around and enjoy this little trip into your past. But in everything you do, remember: never take off your cloak of invisibility!"
With a nod, Harry says goodbye and steps onto the moving spiral staircase. The day flies by. As an invisible phantom, Harry follows his father and sometimes his mother wherever they go and has the feeling that something broken inside him is healing. Finally, finally he is allowed to be with his family! He feels as if ERISED has become a reality, even if it is a bit of a downer not to be allowed to make his presence noticed. Happy and a little sad to say goodbye, Harry sinks into bed that evening. Little does he know what will rouse him from his sleep the next morning...
~*~
"Hey, Moony, you sleepyhead, wake up! Prongs and Wormtail are already downstairs!"
Harry turns to the side and covers his ears. He would like to sleep a little longer today. But it's no use, Sirius' voice is just too loud! Yawning, Harry lolls over, waits until the boys have left the room and slips into his slippers. He would see Dumbledore in a moment and tell him his story. Once again.
Seven days. Seven days in a row he has woken up on the same day. He was getting tired of hiding under the cloak all day. If he was already stranded here in the past, so close to his family, why wasn't he allowed to be with them? Not being permitted to say hello to them was torture when he had missed them for so long!
"After everything you've told me, I have to agree with you, Harry," Dumledore explained calmly as Harry popped the second sherbet drop into his mouth, "You're obviously trapped in a time loop that only lasts one day. No harm can come to you if you have some contact with your peers. But the truth must remain our secret. A little white lie is needed here and I have an idea."
The sherbet drop melts on Harry's tongue as he listens captivated....
~*~
Back and forth. Back and forth. Harry paces excitedly in front of his bed, his invisibility cloak hidden under the bed, a suitcase that is not his at his feet and Professor McGonagall at his side. Finally, footsteps can be heard on the stairs. Harry's heart is pounding in his throat. A moment later, the heads of four boys appear in the doorway, looking at him in astonishment.
"Gryffindors, I beg your attention," Professor McGonagall speaks up, "This here is Harry Dumbledore, a great-nephew of our Headmaster. He is passing through and is staying in your dormitory tonight. He will be leaving very early tomorrow morning. Until then, I hope you spend the day well together and, above all, be nice to him."
"We always are," Sirius murmurs and pokes Remus in the side.
McGonagall grimaces, "I'm warning you, Black, if you make trouble, you'll have trouble with me!"
And, with a stern look, she leaves the dormitory.
Meanwhile, James' eyes are cartwheels. "Dumbledore's nephew? Unbelievable, you look just like me. Completely the same, except for the eyes. Tell me, Dumledore, do you like Quidditch?"
Harry knows what to answer: "Sure, I play for the house team at my school!"
James' eyes shine dreamily. "Great!" he replies, "Me too. Tell me, if you're his nephew, surely you can arrange the playing field for us this afternoon, can't you, Dumbledore?"
Harry smiles sheepishly. "Well, I can ask him!"
"Great!" exclaims James enthusiastically, slapping him on the shoulder.
"That's Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew, by the way. Now come on. History of Magic is about to start. Awful! I need someone to save me from falling asleep. Why don't you tell me a little more about Dumbledore? Maybe a few sordid details about his life!"
James puts his arm around Harry like a brother, while Sirius and Peter have to stifle a fit of laughter. Together, the five boys leave Gryffindor Tower like friends who have known each other forever. And Harry feels like he's walking on air. Perhaps he would wake up tomorrow to Neville's snoring again. But for one day, for this one day, he has found his family again.