[Watching] A Glimpse Into the Future - Chapter 1 - x_manga_Bleach_x - Harry Potter (2024)

Chapter Text

Fred stretched his long limbs and sent Hermione a lazy grin when she looked at him reprovingly. He didn't know what he had done to earn her wrath seeing as he and his twin avoided making a mess of things these past few days. Sure, they played a prank in the Great Hall but it served two purposes: first, they made Harry smile and secondly, they impressed the few Unspeakables present to present their jobs (all the while keeping their mysterious ways). With a smirk, Fred proceeded to ignore Hermione's reproachful looks (honestly, why didn't she tell him what she had against him this time?) and draped an arm over Harry's shoulders, pulling him closer. Ah, he mused, watching the girl twitch in her seat opposite to them, that was the reason. She was jealous of their interaction. They all gathered – students and delegations as well as the teachers- in the Great Hall an hour ago to listen to the few Unspeakable present talk about their jobs. It was informative although Fred had the feeling he still wasn't sure what Unspeakables did. Still, that wasn't important right now. What was important was the recent invention they created; a device capable of showing the future. Not all the future, of course, just a glimpse of it. It could show anyone's future as long as they had their magical signature registered. Which was why they took samples from the volunteers earlier. Naturally, almost everyone had volunteered to test that invention. Some appeared to be scared or apprehensive and refused to participate but the twins managed to convince Harry to volunteer with them. The boy had appeared a tad exasperated but he had followed the twins to the Unspeakables.

“Is this going to start again soon? I'm bored,” Ron groaned, earning some chuckles from his Housemates.

They had already witnessed a few glimpses from various students. They even got to see Parvati and Lavender's wedding which sent the two Gryffindor girls into a blushing mess. Harry had known of course, that Parvati had a crush on Lavender – he wasn't as oblivious as he let it show. He hadn't been sure that Lavender would grow to love her best friend romantically but he was happy to know that they seemed genuinely happy together in the future. He had even caught sight of his future self (he was pretty sure it was his future self) among the guests during the wedding reception. The Weasley children had been shocked to see Bill (their brother!) would be dating Fleur Delacour in the future. They would have never expected something like that but the French Champion had been curious enough to wish to witness her future and she, too, had volunteered.

When Neville's future had unravelled in front of their eyes, nobody had been more shocked than Neville himself.

~ ~Flashback ~~

[Hogwarts - April 12^th, 2005]

2005? That was more than ten years in the future. Not that it was that surprising, they had witnessed some things happening in 2014 and such, like when Adrian Pucey welcomed to the world his third child, with his wife Gemma Farley – a former Slytherin student who graduated the year before.

“Alright, kids. We're done here. Don't forget your homework due next Tuesday,” a masculine voice says loudly.

The voice sounded familiar but Harry couldn't quite put a name on it. He tilted his head to the side, frowning. He knew that voice. He was sure of it. It was obviously older but it was probably someone close, someone he saw every day. Probably a fellow Gryffindor.

The décor formed slowly but it soon became obvious that they were staring at the Hogwarts' greenhouse. Students were gathered around potted plants, talking excitedly about what they had just learned.

Ron cringed when he recognized the plants as baby Mandrakes.

“Not again,” he whispered, earning a laugh from his fellow Housemates.

They all remembered that lesson in particular. Even with ear muffs, those things had still been annoyingly loud.

The angle changed, showing the teacher and everyone was rendered speechless.

It was Neville Longbottom.

“What?” Draco Malfoy squeaked, a faint pink colouring his cheeks.

A large smile appeared on Harry's face and leaned forward, turning his face to look at Neville:

“You did it, Nev! You got your mastery!”

Neville blushed and erupted into denial:

“Y – You don't know that. Hogwarts teachers don't all have a mastery.”

“They should and I'm sure you did.”

Yeah, okay, Neville thought with a faint smile. He had been thinking about getting a mastery in Botany and he had thought about becoming an Herbology teacher. Hopefully, it would impress his grandmother enough even if it wouldn't be on par with his father's job as an Auror.

Two seats away from Neville, Parvati giggled:

“Woah, Neville. That's a nice glow-up.”

Neville blushed brightly, especially when Lavender and a few other girls agreed excitedly.

It was true though, Harry thought with a grin. 25-year-old Neville was taller, broader and generally larger than his present self was. 25-year-old Neville Longbottom was muscular and confident, standing tall and effortlessly holding the attention of an entire class of easily distracted firsties.

On the other side of the room, 7th-yearLucian Bole from Slytherin whistled appreciatively:

“Now; that's a nice view.”

Draco squeaked again and glared at the Beater but Bole paid him no mind; Malfoy would be more convincing if his pale face didn't give him away so easily when he blushed.

~~ Flashback End~~

They got to see much more of Neville. Just like the others, they saw more than just one memory. From what they had seen, they knew that Neville had somehow ended up marrying Hannah Abbott. Abbott herself had been shown and she had looked so different than she did now! When she hadn't been accusing Harry of being the Heir of Slytherin (could you tell that Harry was still a bit miffed about that?), she had been quiet enough – a rosy-cheeked girl with twin pigtails, a bit taller than Harry but not by much. Her future self was... buff. There was no other word that came to Harry's mind. She was buff. She was muscular although not more than Neville and there was a mean scar slashing her face. She was pretty but it was obvious, looking at her and Neville, that they went through some stuff. They weren't the only ones and the comments of some future people implied a big conflict of sorts although nobody knew what for sure or wanted to think deeply about it. That was the problem with inventions like that; sometimes you learned things you weren't sure you wanted to know. Still, the pros outweighed the cons, most thought.

They had also found out via watching Neville's future self that he and Hannah Abbott had a kid, a little girl. There were some more... disturbing and shocking memories though; like the one where they saw Neville slay a large snake in the middle of ruins. Nobody could figure out where he was at the time but Harry had a sinking feeling that he knew. It might have been his imagination and he might have just mistaken it but... the place... the stairs had looked... strikingly familiar.

The boy received some pats on the back and shoulders as well as yells of congratulations for saving Ron and Hermione (that the snake was about to attack from what they had seen). He didn't look that much older at the time – couldn't have been more than 18 but he already looked different. Needless to say, everyone was suitably impressed when they witnessed 23-year-old Neville tame a dangerous and giant flesh-eating plant.

Watching Neville's memories from the future had let them know bits and pieces about others' futures – as they did when they watched the others' memories. Apparently, Seamus had been Lavender's witness for her wedding. There was also the fact that Angelina Johnson was going to get married to a former student from Beauxbâtons – a boy from a pureblood line. Susan Bones was apparently thriving in the Law Department and for some reason, Neville was one of the few people who could reach out to Harry and the Weasley twins. When they heard this, Great Hall erupted into mutters. Why? Why only Neville and a few others? The answer came when Neville explained to the headmistress (because McGonagall was headmistress in the future?? Did Dumbledore finally retire? It was about time!) that very few people knew where Harry and the twins had run off as they were very private about it.

At the Slytherin table, Terence Higgs's mood dropped rather drastically and he let out a resigned sigh while his friend, Miles Bletchley, patted him on the back. Miles, of course, knew all about the 'secret' crush Terence had on the Boy Wonder.

Okay... Harry might have been more curious than he told his friends but come on, it was the future! He was just as curious as his peers. He wondered if...

From his other side, George wrapped an arm around his waist and dragged Harry out of his thoughts.

“You okay?” the redhead whispered to him.

Harry tilted his head to the side:

“Yeah, just tired.”

The raised brow he got in response told him that George was not fooled.

“And maybe a little bit apprehensive.”

He couldn't help but wonder... With Voldemort not dead... he wondered what kind of future awaited or if he would even -

“Don't let your mind wander there, Harrykins,” Fred chided him gently.

“We got you,” his twin finished, staring at Harry with a solemn look on his face.

“Sorry.”

“Don't apologize, darling.”

His face flushed and he ducked his head. It was because of things like that that some people thought they were dating. It was embarrassing to be asked if he dated the twins when Harry considered them his brothers but he liked the pet names so he wasn't about to ask them to stop.

Fred opened his mouth to say something when he abruptly stopped moving: two Unspeakables had reappeared in the Great Hall and the giant screen made of mist suddenly lit up again.

All the Wixen's attention snapped to the screen where words appeared to show them the time and location it was taking place.

[Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, Diagon Alley – August 28^th, 1996]

“Weasleys' what? It disappeared too soon!” a 6^th year Hufflepuff whispered.

“Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes,” one of his Housemates told him. “I wonder what it is.”

But then, they saw very well what it was and the Weasley twins whooped in joy and high-fived Lee and Harry.

“We did it!”

“I bet mother dearest would -”

“Have a stroke if she was here.”

A few among the audience (who weren't particularly close to the twins) guessed correctly that the shop in question was the twins' jokes shop. They heard those two talk about their project once or twice but they never took him seriously.

Fred and George were, of course, proved right as soon as the angle changed to show the inside of a very busy shop.

It was obviously a busy day (not that any other day wasn't a busy day, Harry thought with wry amusem*nt. Fred & George's shop looked very successful); teenagers were entering or leaving in groups, and young adults were talking animatedly while pointing at some purchase items. There were even a couple of elderly people loitering in the corner. And the queue! There was a small queue and one cashier.

The angle changed again, showing a staircase leading upstairs – to another part of the shop. The Weasley twins were standing on the stairs, observing the crowd with a grin full of teeth. They looked a bit older than they did now – they had cut their hair and were wearing colourful three-piece costumes.

// The twins walk down the stairs, talking about something while they approach the second cash register. //

“Guys... Is this your shop?” a 7th-yearGryffindor asked, eyes wide.

A twin smirk answered him and his jaw dropped.

“1996, it's not that long,” Katie Bell whispered with a giddy smile. “You guys didn't waste time upon graduating.”

She was happy for the twins. She knew how long they'd been dreaming of opening a joke shop.

The angle changed again and she blinked when they suddenly looked at the entrance of the shop.

// A small figure dashes inside with a squeak . //

Alicia blinked. What? Who was that? She didn't have time to see.

Fred recognized the silhouette immediately, closely followed by George and they both looked down, raising a brow at their honorary baby brother.

“What's up?”

Harry shrugged. He had no idea what was going on with his older self. It didn't seem to be a life-threatening situation but you can never know.

// The twins blink when a figure stops in front of them. It's Harry. //

It was Harry Potter. A slightly older Harry Potter, slightly taller too but not by much. He was still small with a lithe body but the shirt he wore showed that he had gained some muscles. He looked less like a child and more like the adult he would become.

Dreamy sighs echoed, just as they did when the others had been shown older and Harry felt his cheeks heat up in embarrassment.

At the Slytherin table, Miles Bletchley and Adrian Pucey teased their friend Terence when the other boy went a bit pink upon seeing Harry. If he was like that now, how would he be when they would see him older, adult? How would Harry Potter be as an adult? Would there be some drastic changes like Longbottom? Or would it be more subtle, like Finnigan?

// One of the twins (George) takes one look at Harry and sighs in sympathy:

“Journalists?”

“Worse!” the boy squeaks. “So much worse. Please hide me.”

Harry's eyes widened in horror at the mention of the journalists but he relaxed when the answer was negative. Sure, his older self looked slightly frightened but at least, it wasn't journalists. Surely, it couldn't be that bad, right?

// The twins gesture for him to hide behind the counter and Harry obeys immediately. A few seconds later, the twins look up, annoyed:

“Ginny. Sister -”

“-dearest. What can we-”

“-do for you, today?”

Harry's face twisted slightly, both in confusion and denial and Fred snickered even as George palmed his face in exasperation. Despite what people might think, Harry is not oblivious to people trying to flirt with him. He just didn't know how to deal with other people's interest in him and had decided to ignore it. So, Harry was not oblivious. He knew very well that Ginny had a crush on him but he had been determined to ignore it and since Ginny didn't seem to want to make a move (thank Merlin!) then it made it easier for Harry to swip it under the rug.

Fred and George were both aware of the crush Ginny had on Harry and they tried to subtly discourage it, to no avail. It wasn't even for selfish reasons (although they would hate it if Ginny took away Harry's attention from them but they knew it would not happen). It's just... Well, they knew Harry better than anyone else. They knew very well that even if Harry had been interested, he and Ginny would have never worked. They didn't have that kind of chemistry. Hell, Harry had more chemistry with MALFOY than he did with their sister. Ginny... Well, she had a crush on the Boy-Who-Lived. Sure, some might argue that Harry was the Boy-Who-Lived but he was also so much more. Harry was a maelstrom of innocence, loneliness and longing for belonging somewhere. But he was also a ball of anxiety, resentment and anger that festered the longer he bottled up his emotions. Harry was cuddly and touch-starved. He was also angry and a warrior (even if he hated it). Ginny would never be able to keep up. It wasn't about being powerful or anything like that. Ginny just couldn't keep up. Not with Harry and she didn't have the personality to fill Harry's life the way he needed and wanted to. Ginny wanted to be taken care of. Harry didn't want that. If anything, Harry needed, wanted and deserved to be taken care of.

“Is he... running from Weaslette? Pansy Parkinson asked, confused.

It certainly looked like it but it couldn't be. Why would he? Did he annoy her into chasing him? Or was it something else?

// Ginny glares, annoyed:

“Not now guys. Did you see Harry?”

The twins lie and when Ginny insists, saying that she saw him enter the shop, Fred snorts:

“Ginny. We have a special alarm to tell us when our one and only sponsor drops by. This floating bear didn't say anything so I can assure you he hasn't entered the shop. Dearest Harry would never stop by Diagon Alley without visiting us.”

Hermione frowned:

“Why would Harry avoid Ginny?”

Ron snorted. Even he had an idea why but he wouldn't say anything because he doubted Hermione would like the smug tone in his voice. If anything, he was relieved that Harry wouldn't date Ginny. That would have been weird.

“Harry, why would you avoid Ginny?” Hermione repeated when she saw that nobody was willing to answer her.

Harry shrugged:

“I have an idea.”

“... And?”

“And I think I'm going to keep it to myself.”

Hermione humphed but did not insist.

At the Ravenclaw table, something else had caught the audience's attention:

“Sponsor? He sponsored them?” Lisa Turpin repeated a glint in her eyes.

“It certainly seemed so.”

“Oh, woah. I was not expecting that.”

“I still can't believe they are so successful,” a Slytherin mumbled but it lacked any real bite.

// Ginny relents and leaves the joke shop with a huff. George rolls his eyes:

“Nice to see you too.”

At the Gryffindor table, Ginny reddened slightly, put out by the rude behaviour of her older self. What was going on with her? And why was Harry avoiding her?

// When they are sure that she is gone, Fred holds his hand out to help Harry stand up.

“Why was she chasing you? Didn't you reject her like, last week? Shouldn't she be avoiding you?” he asks as he scans the purchase items for a client.

Noises erupted in the audience and Harry sighed in annoyance but it was drowned out by the mutterings. Even the teachers' table appeared to be gossiping. Great.

“Potter rejected Weasley?” Malfoy whispered, eyes wide. “Uh... I feel strangely satisfied.”

Blaise snorted:

“Of course you do. You've been trying to upstage Weasley for four years now. Although, that's the wrong Weasley.”

Miles tilted his head to the side:

“I knew that Weaslette had a crush on him – she's not the only one by far- but I'm surprised she did something about it. Or that she still had a crush on him, two years in the future.”

“He rejected her?” Mandy Brocklehurst asked, blinking. “I thought they would look cute together.”

Kevin Entwhistle rolled his eyes so hard that Anthony Goldstein winced:

“Just because they might look cute together doesn't mean that they like each other or will end together. Stop treating real people like your childhood Barbie dolls.”

Mandy glared a bit before dropping her gaze to the table with a sigh:

“I know. Barbie dolls are so much easier to handle than real people though.”

Lisa snickered.

// Harry sighs:

“Yeah. And the week before. And the week before that.”

“How... How many times did she ask you out?”

“What kind of question is that?”

“Apparently a good one,” Mandy Brocklehurst replied tartly, “Did she ask him out multiple times? Girl, how many rejections do you need?”

Terence Higgs glared at the table, unwilling to even glance at the Gryffindor table. He knew he would probably try to kill Weaslette with his eyes if he did.

Meanwhile, Ginny stared, disgruntled. Why – Why would Harry reject her? She was Ron's little sister. Surely they would grow close in the future? She would have her chances. She was... She was pretty, right? And smart if not necessarily in an academic way and funny? She liked Quidditch and she had relatively good grades. Boys liked girls just like her, so why not?

“I lost count. I tried to be polite but I'm starting to lose patience.”

Michael Corner nodded in agreement:

“There's only so long you can stay calm until you snap.”

“Why don't you tell her that you're gay?”

There was an explosion of mutters at that one and Harry groaned, nestling his head in his arms. He could hear exclamations of shock along with a few “It could be just an excuse”. George whispered that this person was certainly one of the girls who wanted to have a chance with the Boy-Who-Lived.

For his part, Harry hadn't exactly been ready to come out. Especially since he had yet to really be attracted to anyone. Sure, he knew that he preferred boys but he never... huh.

“Is it true?” Michael Corner whispered to his Housemates at the Ravenclaw table.

Lisa Turpin tilted her head to the side and shrugged:

“I believe so. I mean, he doesn't seem like the type to say something like that if it's not true. Some might but I don't think he would, especially since he's rather reserved about his private life.”

Anthony Goldstein and Kevin Entwhistle nodded in agreement whereas Stephen Cornfoot only shrugged; he didn't know Potter enough to formulate an opinion on it.

“See, you might have a chance, Michael!”

Michael glared at Mandy but the flustered look on his face ruined the effect of it and his friend only laughed at him.

Further away at the Ravenclaw table, a girl sighed:

“It's always the cute ones.”

“Because it shouldn't have to come to this. I shouldn't have to come out for her to accept the fact that I do not want to date her.”

Harry almost whimpered and Fred petted his hair, wincing with his brother when the noise didn't die down. He could make out a couple of students here and there – Hogwarts or from the delegation- sending Harry a look of sympathy for this forced coming out. Harry ignored the mutters with practised... unease and tried to ignore the fact that his forced/early coming out reinforced some people's idea that he and the twins were dating. That was weird. They were his brothers, for Merlin's sake! He got it, he got it; wizarding families were weird and full of incestuous history but he, Fred and George were not like that!

“Oi! Knock it off!” George growled, sparks flying from his wand.

He couldn't believe no one of the teachers had tried to quiet them down. Then again, McGonagall looked like she had been hit by a bludger so perhaps, he shouldn't have expected anything else (Teachers were useless anyway).

Nonetheless, the audience quieted down. No one wanted to feel the wrath of the Weasley twins.

Not far from the twins, Dean tilted his head to the side, considering but overall in agreement with Harry. It shouldn't have to come to that. And, honestly, if she didn't relent after multiple rejections, Dean doubted that Harry's coming out would have much more effect on her. Still, she'd been flirting with him recently and now that he knew her crush on Harry would not go away anytime soon, it made him reconsider things; was she truly interested in him? Or did she want to make someone jealous? Was all of this a coincidence or did it have anything to do with her persistent crush on the Boy-Who-Lived?

// The scene starts to dissolve while the twins are handing Harry a bag filled with... something and tell him it's on the house. //

//

Severus scowled; it was probably filled with prank products that the brat would use on his classmates. Poppy, of course, recognised the look on his face and gave him a reprimanding look in his response. Properly chastised even though she hadn't said a word, Severus looked down with a grimace.

[New York City, America – April 16^th, 2004]

Mutters of confusion echoed in the Great Hall when they saw the location that appeared briefly. Harry tilted his head to the side and exchanged a look with the twins. They had the same thoughts; were they living in America in the future? Unlike some people, they never experienced the 'American Dream', and never even thought about living in America but that might be something they would do in the future. Or perhaps they were just travelling or going there for work? Who knew? Harry suspected they might be living there – or at least not Britain- because the Neville from the future had said that not many people could reach them. That could mean many things; perhaps he and the twins had just decided to hide their place but... that didn't sound right.

The screen lit up again, showing them a somewhat animated street that Harry was pretty sure was St. Mark's Place. It was early in the morning.

He tilted his head when some of his Housemates grew excited:

“I can't wait to see how Harry looks in the future!” Parvati whispered with a grin.

Harry's lips twitched. He too, wanted to see but he wasn't sure he wanted to hear his schoolmates talk about him. Whether in good or bad, he knew that they would gossip about it anyway, just like they (and Harry even if he kept mostly silent) had done with the others. It was in their nature.

// The inside of a shop is shown although it hasn't been shown from the outside. It appeared to be clean and well-maintained. Various drawing sheets are hanging on the warm-coloured walls. //

What seemed to be the main room was large enough but Hermione could tell it wasn't where things (whatever it was) were done. Strange considering she first thought it was a hair saloon or something along those lines at first but no, she didn't think so after seeing the beautiful drawings of faeries, letterings and creatures here and there.

There was a stool as well as a desk and even a couch and a few comfortable-looking chairs around a coffee table. The angle changed as if someone was walking towards the stairs leading downstairs and they were suddenly in another room. There were more drawings this time and in the room, Seamus could see some... massage tables? And – oh. OH! Seamus realised quite suddenly where he was when he recognized the kind of chairs there were but he couldn't focus on it for long before the angle changed, showing once again the first room, as well as a pair of feet and slowly going up.

It wasn't long until the man – because it was a man or at least it was assumed to be a man- was revealed completely and gasps echoed in the room.

The man in question was Harry Potter. An older Harry Potter, of course, and he looked so different!

“Harry, you grew up to be rather handsome,” Lavender teased him, laughing when she saw the embarrassed blush on his face.

// The man has long dark hair gathered in a low ponytail. He's wearing a blue short-sleeved shirt with suspenders and form-fitting trousers. //

Terence lowered his head to rest it against the table and whimpered. Miles patted his shoulder in sympathy, which only grew when he saw the blush on his face.

“He sure grew up. Mah, what a glow up.”

The groan he got from Terence made his day.

At the Gryffindor table, Harry did his best to ignore the predatory and lustful glances sent his way. Did they realise that he was still a child (same as them)? Didn't they realise how uncomfortable it was to be looked at this way?

Thankfully, the twins made most of those people look away by glaring fiercely at them.

“You do realise that this is why a lot of people think you're dating Harry?” Hermione asked.

The twins switched to glare at Hermione and Harry wondered if there was something judgemental in her tone that he had missed. Social cues still escaped him sometimes.

“Well, as long as they stop looking at Harry like he's a piece of meat they're going to devour, we're fine with that,” George said, baring his teeth and showing how serious they were by not doing their twin talk.

“Harry! You're tattooed!” Seamus exclaimed with a squeak.

Harry blinked.

“Yes, it's hard to miss,” he replied, looking at Seamus with a questioning look.

Perhaps Seamus had a thing for tattoos, he thought, watching as the blush extended on the Irish boy's face before reporting his attention to the screen.

His future self had tattoos covering both of his arms, from the hands to just above his elbows. He couldn't quite make out everything but he could see a couple of tribal symbols as well as magical creatures and Runes here and there. Even a couple of very detailed flowers. The Runes were probably magical, he thought to himself. He could hear them all commenting on his physical appearance – his tattoos, the long hair etc...etc...- as well as the obvious fact that he was not in Britain.

“Harry.”

The aforementioned boy winced and turned to face Hermione.

“You're a tattoo artist in the future.”

Having said that in the silence of the Great Hall, most heard her and everyone (minus those who had guessed correctly) through a loop. Some thought that he might have been an artist – a painter or a drawer or something. They never thought he would be a tattoo artist even if, on second guess, it now seemed obvious. In their defence, most of them had never been inside a tattoo salon. Some of them had never seen one – not because there weren't tattoo shops in the magical districts but because it was usually in a more discreet street, not in the main ones. At least, not in Britain and not in France.

Still... It was... a surprising choice for the Boy-Who-Lived. Most thought he would follow in his father's footsteps and become an Auror. Harry could see a frown on McGonagall's face and he bit back a snarl. He hated it. He hated this; how everyone expected things from him, as if they a right! How dare they?

“Wait. Does that mean that you're living in America?” a random Hufflepuff student asked. “Since you seem to work in that place?”

His theory was immediately denounced by others but still, some turned to look at the Gryffindor table.

Harry let his head drop with a thud. He could feel the twins move around him and knew that they must have been glaring when the whispers were shushed. You wouldn't believe it, like that, but Fred and George could be scary when they wanted to be.

“Maybe not. He could just be visiting. Or on a vacation,” a student suggested.

“Oh, no. He's pretty and an artist. This is exactly Terence's type,” Adrian Pucey started, lips twitching.

“Oh, wait,” Lucian continued. “He was already Terence's type.”

“Does he have any type that doesn't answer by the Name Harry Pott-”

Cassius was cut off by a groan and he snickered when he saw their former Seeker hide his blushing face in his hands.

“This is not fair,” the Higgs Heir whined quietly.

His friends laughed at him and continued to tease him despite his pleas.

“Harry.”

The boy sighed and raised his head to face Hermione.

“Yes.”

“You don't sound surprised.”

He was pretty sure she sounded accusatory now.

“I thought about it before,” he told her with a raised eyebrow, ignoring the whispers.

“But... Don't you want to be an Auror?”

Harry squinted at her. What was she on?

“No?? I literally never said that.”

He saw her swallow, a stubborn glint lighting up in her eyes. Oh, Merlin. Here we go.

“But your dad-”

Yup, he knew that would happen. He was tired of everyone always comparing him to his dad. He was his son, not his copy. Sure, he'd like to hear more about his parents but being always compared to them or told that he was good at something because his parents had been good at that was... tiring and a bit insulting too.

“Yeah, and I'm not my dad. My dad is dead.”

That might have been said a bit curtly but at least, it shut her up. She never even knew his dad so why was she surprised? He would have apologized but, on second thought, it was about time he started to push back. Even if it was against his friends. Especially if it was against his friends. Fred was right. If he couldn't make his voice heard by his friends, then he had no hope of doing the same with his allies (allies, what a strange thought) or enemies.

There was music in the background, low. Harry reckoned it sounded like the Blue Jay Singers but he wouldn't bet on it.

// The man is reading over a document when the bell to his saloon chimes and he looks up with a raised brow:

“Mr Dolohov, what a nice surprise. If you're here for something to do with the British Ministry, I'm afraid, I cannot help you.”

Harry blinked and tilted his head to the side and wondered why everyone gasped at the name.

It was George who explained it to him:

“The Dolohovs are an old Russian wizarding family. They are said to be very close to the Tsarish family of Magical Russia. Antonin Dolohov is the Heir of the Dolohov line; he went to Hogwarts and works in the British Ministry for Magic as an Unspeakable and liaison with Russia. He was arrested in 1980, on suspicions of being a Death Eater but was released after swearing a magic oath and giving proof that he was a spy.”

Oh. Well, when you say this...

“Unspeakables are... Well, no one truly knows anything about them but people are usually both scared and awed by them,” Fred added. “There are rumours that Dolohov and his partner Rookwood are the best Unspeakable team in the Department.”

A few feet away from them, Dagger shuffled away with a satisfied smirk. Knife saw this, despite the hood obscuring their faces and shook their head. Of course, his partner would be a smug bastard about it. Still, he wondered how Antonin came to be close (he was pretty sure they were close) to the Boy-Who-Lived.

// The man standing at the entrance smirks, taking a few steps inside and showing his empty hands. //

Knife shook their head once more. Dagger didn't need a wand to be dangerous but the young man seemed to know that even if he appeared to be relaxed. Well, they certainly seem to know each other well enough in the future.

“I wouldn't dream of it. I signed up under an alias. I'm here to be tattooed. My appointment is at 9:15 a.m.” (2)

Harry gives him a deadpan look:

“And you just had to make a 5 thousand km trip to get a tattoo?”

“I took an International Portkey,” Antonin replies with a mysterious smile.

Harry rolls his head and turns around, silently instructing the man to follow him downstairs. //

The twins snickered and wrapped an arm around their baby brother's shoulders, ignoring the mumbling coming from the raven-haired boy.

The scene changed, showing the same day but two hours later. Terence stared, watching avidly the older Harry, focused on his work on the arm of the Unspeakable. He was working on the Dark Mark, rendering it completely different than it had once been. The Mark was faded but still present and Harry was working over it, changing completely.

At the teachers' table, Albus' eyes twinkled when he saw how faded the Mark was. It seemed that Tom had well and truly been vanquished in the future.

“[...] So if you told me why you are here? Truly?”

“What? Can't I visit my former apprentice and check on him?” Dolohov teases him, not even wincing at the needle piercing his inner biceps.

The room went into an uproar at this. Harry glanced around with a frown and Dagger tilted his head to the side.

Fred leaned forward:

“Dolohov and Rookwood are not known to take on apprentices.”

It sure would be the talk of the town (more like of Britain) if one of them was to take on an apprentice. And if that apprentice was the Boy-Who-Lived? It would make the headlines for weeks.

// Harry snorts.

“I never was your apprentice.”

“Come on, you can't deny that I taught you some very useful spells.”

Harry nods but does not look away from the design he is reproducing on the man's arm. //

Parvati tilted her head to the side.

“I mean... even if it's not official, it's kinda like you were... will be?- his apprentice,” she said as the whispers started again.

Harry pouted and hid his face in his arms. He just wanted the people to stop looking at him like that. Or to stop looking at him at all.

At the Slytherin table, Adrian rolled his eyes and looked at the fake sky:

“Merlin, Malfoy. Shut your mouth, will you? The Unspeakables cannot be bribed so stop saying that your father will hear about this because that will not give you an advantage over Potter.”

Gods! Why did he have to tolerate this? What did he do to deserve this punishment? Probably something terrible.

“Alright. Your devil twins caused some mischief in the Ministry.”

Harry's lips twitch and he carefully does not look up at the Unspeakables.

“My 'devil twins' have not set foot in England in years. You know that.”

“And we both know Fred and George don't need to be in the same country to create untold chaos.”

Terence scowled; were those two flirting? It looked like they were flirting. He shouldn't be mad, didn't have any reason to; he and Potter weren't friends. They were polite... acquaintances. They got along whenever they met in the library and sat at the same table but they didn't really talk much.

Angelina frowned.

“The twins haven't gone back to Britain either? What about visiting their parents and siblings? What about their shop?”

Fred and George exchanged a look but carefully avoided answering the Chaser's question. They had their suspicions; there were things they didn't agree with their parents or with their mom at the very least. It wasn't even about their dream of opening a joke shop although their career dream certainly didn't help.

No, it was... an accumulation of small things. Harry among them. Well, how people treated Harry in general and every adult they met so far, allowed Harry to be continuously mistreated in some ways. They had once believed their parents were heroes and perhaps they were but the fact that their mom and dad – who knew Harry was not treated well by his relatives- let him rot in the Muggle world because Dumbledore said so... They didn't even try to help. They could have – they could have... There were so many different things that they, as adults, could have done. Even just trying would have meant something but no. They didn't try.

There were a lot of other things, of course, and maybe some new things in the future but... well, Fred thought that their relationship with their family might not be that great in the future.

“It says England. Maybe they live somewhere else in Britain now,” someone suggested uncertainly.

“Oh, Merlin, what did they do?” Minerva whispered, not even questioning how they managed to infiltrate the Ministry with their pranks if they weren't even in Britain at the time.

It was the Weasley twins. She was not going to question it.

// It's obvious that Harry wants to laugh but he doesn't. He hums, staying focused on the tattoo. //

“What did they do?”

“They... They pranked me.

Dagger froze and closed their eyes while Knife snorted. All around the Great Hall, the students – those who had heard of the Unspeakables and of Dolohov specifically, chattered excitedly. They did not. The twins did not! And how did they manage that? Heir Dolohov was not easily caught off guard.

At the Gryffindor table, George looked stunned while his twin brother let out a deep ecstatic chuckle.

Every time I pass a door in the ministry, a song plays. Out loud. Everyone can hear it.”

Harry freezes and looks up, looking incredulous and highly entertained.

“Are you... Are you blushing?”

“No.”

“You are. Gods, what kind of song could possibly embarrass you?”

He was right of course. Dolohov was indeed blushing. Dagger stared at his older self in disbelief. What kind of song could cause such a reaction from him? What did those redheaded menaces do to him?

// Harry takes a sip from his energy drink before diving back to work. Dolohov is looking at the ceiling as if wondering if he's making the right choice before opening his mouth:

“They're playing this song very loudly. A band from my homeland.”

Harry tilts his head to the side to show that he is listening and pauses for a moment, knowing that he might burst into laughter in a few seconds -he doesn't want to mess up the tattoo.

“Do you... know the band known as Little Big?”

Harry tilted his head to the side. He didn't know that band but maybe it hadn't been formed yet.

“Little Big?” George repeated, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Hermione rolled her eyes and ignored the redhead but Harry grinned and poked him in his ribs.

“Meep! Harry! You know I'm sensitive,” George whined, rubbing his side.

Seamus snickered:

“This is why everyone thinks you're dating.”

“...”

Antonin deflates when Harry starts cackling. //

Dagger stared at his future self. He looked so flustered and done with the situation altogether. Knife tilted his head to the side, looking intrigued. Around them, questions were thrown here and there but nobody knew what kind of music could have made flustered like this. The Muggle-raised students had an idea but as they didn't what song had been used (would be used), they weren't completely certain.

At the Slytherin table, Terence stared, open-mouthed. He didn't think he'd ever heard the Gryffindor seeker laugh so openly. It was kind of cute. He was not the only one feeling that way, he thought grumpily as he glanced around the Great Hall.

“I mean... I don't... see the problem,” Harry starts before losing it again.

Antonin rolls his eyes:

“It brings unwanted attention to my person. Do you know how many Wixen have approached to ask me on a date?”

“No, but I can imagine.”

What kind of songs could have gathered such a positive response? Dean thought with wry amusem*nt. Besides Dagger, Knife had grown stiff and was now glaring at the ground, annoyance emanating from him in the form of a dark aura. When Dagger noticed this, he gave him a questioning look but the other Unspeakable ignored him. Or maybe he just didn't notice him.

Who knows?

Poliakoff snorted in amusem*nt. He didn't know what Little Big was – although he could guess what kind of music they made based on the reactions and the band's name alone- but he was highly entertained.

// Antonin sighs and drags his free hand over his face:

“Could you please just... talk to the twins? Make them stop. If I hear those lyrics one more time...”

“Well, sorry, but I do not control the twins,” Harry says as he grabs the needle and starts working on the shading. “They do as they wish. And apparently, right now, they want you to either get a move on and ask Augustus out already, or make him jealous enough that he will snap and ask you out... or something along those lines, I guess,” he concludes before adding, lips twitching. “And it's a very catchy song,”

“Augustus?” Mandy Brocklehurst asked. “As in Augustus Rookwood?”

Her question brought a wave of whispers. Knife and Dagger froze when their colleagues turned at once towards them. They could feel their amusem*nt rolling off them in waves but both were too busy processing what had just been said. Dear Merlin, Dagger thought as he felt his cheeks heat up. This was so awkward. His blush only intensified (and he was damn relieved to be wearing his uniform because the hood obscured his face and made it hard to see the blush on his face) when he saw the Kid-Who-Lived giggle.

Besides him, Augustus had gone still and both Unspeakables avoided looking at the other. They would talk but not now, not with all those people around them. They had both known of the other's interest and had even flirted a couple of times but... If they were to take it further.. It would be a big step... Something potentially permanent. Something concrete. Antonin never had something like that. As far as he knew, Augustus never did either. Apparently, their future selves were still stuck that way, if they still weren't dating ten years in the freakin' future!

// It cuts to Harry wrapping up the tattoo and giving his pieces of advice on how to take care of it and how long he should keep it covered. He also tells Dolohov that he should come back whenever he has some free time so that he can finish the tattoo. //

Lavender sighed dreamily as she watched Harry, an older Harry, talking to Dolohov. He sounded so professional and at ease. She'd never seen him like that apart from when he was surrounded by a twin on each side. She wasn't stupid or stubborn (well, she was stubborn but not like that). She had heard that Harry was gay but that didn't discourage the small crush she had on him. It would go away at some point. Or maybe a small part of her would always have a crush on him but she would be able to move around it.

Vaisey frowned:

“Is it not done?”

It was Evana Luis, a half-blood in their House who answered:

“Sometimes, tattoos are too complex or big to be done in a single session. It's better to wait until the part already done is healed before doing another session to finish it.”

“Do you have news on your friends from Britain?”

Harry shrugs:

“Yeah. Luna will drop by in a few days. She'll be in Seattle for a Convention on Magical Creatures. She's going to give a lecture and there will be a signing session for her book.

At that, numerous heads whipped towards the Ravenclaw table to stare at a small blond girl. Harry smiled, recognizing Luna Lovegood but frowned at the incredulous looks she was getting. What was so hard to believe? How dare they look at Luna like they couldn't believe she could do anything good in her life!? Thankfully, Luna didn't seem to care about those jackasses.

Neville is thriving at Hogwarts. Dean and Seamus are officially associates at Seamus' rum distillery in Ireland.

Seamus blinked and a look of pure bliss appeared on his face while Dean silently resigned himself to his fate. It appeared like his best friend had managed to talk him into working with him in his family distillery.

From what I heard, Hermione has an internship at the Ministry and Ron is shadowing Mr Diggory. Marcus and Silver are getting married soon-”

“They are? Finally?”

Hermione looked satisfied with herself although, looking at the date, she wondered why she was only interning there now. 2004. Surely she would be working now? Or maybe she was already working but was interning in a different Department or something? Ron for his part, frowned, wondering why he was shadowing Mr Diggory. As far as he knew, Cedric's father wasn't part of the DMLE and Ron wanted to be an Auror. Did he change his plans in the future? Or maybe there was more to Amos Diggory than he knew. It wouldn't be surprising; he never paid much attention to the Diggory. He only knew Cedric because the guy used to babysat them when their mom had to go grocery shopping and Charlie and Bill were at Hogwarts. (Mom trusted the twins to take care of them but not to not set the house on fire.)

“Marcus and Silver?” Hermione repeated, blinking. “Who are they?”

Dean shrugged but it was Ron who answered:

“Probably people they met when he left Britain. Why would he even leave?”

Hermione opened her mouth to say that future!Neville implied that Harry had left with the twins but she shut her mouth. Something told her that Ron would probably grumble at that. After all, they were Harry's best friends, not the twins ('That's what you think?' a snarky voice whispered in her mind. Hermione told it to shut up).

At the Slytherin table, Pietro Poliakoff watched in amusem*nt as one of the green & silver students – Flint, he thought, choked on his saliva upon hearing this.

“What is going on?” he asked with a heavy accent although he suspected he knew the cause of this.

Everyone at their table was focusing on two students sitting in front of the other. The one who was not currently choking appeared as stunned as the other.

“The guy currently choking is Marcus Flint. The one in front of him is Silver Travers,” Zabini told him. “They've been dancing around each other for as long as I remember but they refuse to admit their feelings.” (3)

Well, that certainly explained their reaction, Pietro thought with amusem*nt.

On the other hand, the Slytherins were stunned to learn that, in the future, Potter was close enough to some Slytherins to be on a first-name basis with them. And to know when their wedding would be.

“What? H- How?”

How did this happen? When?

When they looked at the Gryffindor table to get a look at the Boy Wonder's reaction, they saw that he... didn't react. He didn't appear annoyed or incredulous if anything. He didn't seem bothered by the fact that his future self was... friend (?) with former Slytherins.

… HOW!?

Terence on the other felt hope rises in his chest. Perhaps he could... perhaps they could be friends... in the future... Not just acquaintances. Of course, they wouldn't be more than that but... they could be friends.

Yeah. I'm going to be the Flower Boy. I don't think they were joking.

Marcus almost choked again but he managed to control his reaction this time. Silver was staring at the screen, lips twitching in amusem*nt.

“I can almost see it,” he whispered, his lips curving into a sly smile that made Marcus feel flustered.

“I could see him in a dress. He's skinny enough for that,” Miles joked.

“In the future?”

“I mean he could still rock in a dress.”

Terence whimpered and Adrian shook his head:

“You do know that being a flower boy doesn't mean wearing a dress, right?”

“I do but watching Terence have a heart attack is funny.”

Terence groaned.

“I hate you guys.”

Neville might drop by too. There's a Botany-centred convention in a few weeks. We might see Hannah as well.”

//

Neville smiled; he had known that he would still be in contact with Harry in the future but it was nice to see it confirmed that way too. He didn't think he and Harry would ever grow close enough to still see each other after Hogwarts – he had always been a wallflower and Harry was always either with Ron & Hermione, with the twins or hiding somewhere alone- but apparently, that was the case.

The screen blurred and when it cleared up, Dolohov was still there but he and Harry were standing in front of the shop, holding cans of juices.

“How are your hands?”

“His hands?”

“What kind of question is that?”

“Did he get injured?”

Dagger squinted at the screen and, when he looked at the young man, he noticed something odd; some small tremors in his hands made them shake. They weren't shaking before; Potter's hands had been stable when he was tattooing his future self. As much as he wanted to not think about it, he knew there was a theory that would fit perfectly. It could be anything really but the way the young man was reacting, the way his hands shook at the moment... It told the world of long-term nerve damage.

“Surprisingly, I usually don't have problems when I'm working,” Harry replies softly.

“That's because you're very dedicated to your job. I imagine your magic helps as much as it can but it can't work around an old... injury like that all the time.”

“Yeah...”

Mutters followed at that and Harry frowned. Did he get... badly injured in the future? How? He was not surprised considering the amount of danger he managed to stumble into inside a freakin' school but he'd like to know if he could perhaps avoid it in the future. Although it seems like while those projections gave them some insights, they also didn't give them quite enough to change anything.

But then again, the Butterfly theory and all of that...

// Antonin holds Harry's hand in his, lifting it, showing Harry's twitchy fingers. //

Hermione frowned, opening her mouth to ask questions but closed it just as soon. Questioning Harry would do no good; it's not like he knew what was going on in the future, anyway.

Terence tried to not be jealous of the way Heir Dolohov was holding Harry's hand; he knew, having listened to the conversation, that Dolohov apparently had a thing for Heir Rookwood and... Let's be honest, Potter... Harry deserved all the love and gentleness in the world. Even if it made Terence jealous. He shouldn't be. It's not like there would ever be something between them, he tried to remind himself. Even if, somehow, Harry became friends with Marcus and Silver in the future.

“'s'not so bad. Fred's mostly good too,” Harry mumbles. “Bellatrix had him under the Cruciatus curse longer than me.”

Bellatrix? Who was that? (*) Harry wondered before his mind registered the rest of the sentence.

Beside him, the Weasley twins stilled at that and Harry, having just gone through the Unforgivable lesson a few days ago, felt himself go pale. Around them, the world (no, just the Great Hall) exploded into gasps and yells and the noise reached an all-time high. The teachers didn't even try to calm things down because they too, were stunned by what they had just heard.

Neville was white-faced:

“The Cruciatus!?”

Harry had noticed of course, that Neville seemed to have a strong reaction to that curse in particular (a different reaction than he had with the other two Unforgivables). While he had been curious, he hadn't dared ask questions, thinking that it would probably be like stepping on a minefield.

“Bellatrix? As in Bellatrix Lestrange!? Did she escape Azkaban too!?” a white-faced Slytherin yelped.

His Housemates didn't bother scolding him for his lack of decorum because they too were shell-shocked. Bellatrix Lestrange managed to escape Azkaban in the future!? Oh no. It was a disaster.

Terence lurched forward, pale and horrified at the realisation that came to his mind. Harry had been tortured -in the future. Well, he and the twins or one twin but... Harry... Harry had been tortured. By Bellatrix f*cking Lestrange.

Harry clenched his fists and ducked his face to avoid all the shocked and pitying looks. Fred and George tightened their hold on Harry and Fred leaned forward to kiss his temple.

“I heard that a team of healers from all over the world are working on a new salve to counter the long-term effect of the Cruciatus curse. It looks promising from what I know.”

The angle showed Harry's shaking hand before showing once again the two wizards.

“I'll think about it and I'll tell the twins.”

So, Harry Potter was indeed in frequent contact with the twins and was perhaps even living with them. All those who thought for sure that they were dating found themselves sure to win the betting pool. It would only be better if they could find out when exactly they started dating.

// Antonin nods and glances at the panoramic window showing the inside of the shop.

“I'm surprised Aidan is not here.”

“Who?”

Harry snorts:

“A cat? In a tattoo shop? Nah. No animals allowed in my shop. It's not hygienic.”

“Oh,” Ron said, his question answered.

“That makes sense,” Hannah Abbott mumbled.

She didn't know much about tattoo shops but she could imagine that it wouldn't be wise to have animals present in a place where the skin was worked on like a canvas and could be exposed to all sorts of bacteria.

They watched the two of them discuss a bit more before the screen dissolved and a new décor took place.

[Weasley's Wizard Wheeze, 1^st floor – April 1999]

First floor... Fred thought, pensieve. So they did live in Diagon Alley, above their store before moving overseas, uh.

Harry was standing in what appeared to be a cosy living room. He was turning his back to them but there was tension in his body. Another man – tall, dark-skinned, broad-shoulders- was standing a few feet behind him.

Harry didn't recognize the man but some did:

“That's Kingsley Shacklebolt. He's an Auror. He fought in the War against You-Know-Who.”

“No.”

Hermione blinked. No, what? What did Harry say “no” to?

“Harry, it's-”

“You have no right to ask that of me.

His voice was shaking and he still hadn't turned back to face the Auror. It instantly put the twins on edge.

Let me get this straight,” the young man starts as he finally turns around to face the older man.

Marcus narrowed his eyes at the look on Potter's face. There was anger and incredulity, a sense of resignation too. His face was pale and he was shaking slightly.

“You want me to make a nice little speech for the late old man. For his second death anniversary. The same old man who planned my death before I was even born?” (4)

Gasps of shock echoed in the Great Hall at that, everyone both horrified and curious to know who was this “old man”. Harry had an idea, a strong idea but he hoped he was wrong. While he had never trusted Dumbledore, he had hoped that it was simply part of his trust issues. Oh, he knew the old man didn't care about him. Harry was just a pawn in the grand scheme of things. But there was a difference between knowing someone who appeared to care about you didn't and finding out that this person had planned your death.

And what did his future self mean by “before I was even born”? How long did the headmaster plan for his death exactly? And why? Dumbledore might not have been actively working towards his death but it sure sounded like he had planning for it.

At the Slytherin table, Terence was all but frothing at the mouth.

“Who in Merlin's name is this?”

Even Marcus didn't dare try to calm his former Seeker down. That would be suicidal. He was not going to try and appease Terence when he was like this.

“I understand Terence. We're talking about a guy who has been planning a kid's death before he was born. I don't think we truly realise how bad it is.”

Some did though because Adrian could see the Unspeakables gather in a corner and talk in hushed tones. For some reason, they were looking at the teachers' table.

At the said table, Minerva looked horrified.

“Who could do something like this?”

She had no idea she was sitting right next to this person. Albus Dumbledore stayed silent, looking contemplative but internally, he was getting nervous. Was Harry talking about him? Albus didn't... He didn't plan for his death... at least, not at the beginning. It was only when he studied the scar on baby Harry that he realised that the lightning scar was much more than just what it appeared to be. Sometimes, you have to do things you're not proud of... for the Greater Good. Don't get him wrong, if Harry survived Tom, Albus would be overjoyed! But... chances of that happening were very slim considering what Albus knew of the cursed scar.

“We may never know,” he whispered, eyes lost in memories.

Back at the Gryffindor table, Hermione was staring at the screen in incredulity. Ron gave Harry a worried look as if he thought his friend might disappear if he were to look away.

“Who could do something so terrible? What kind of monster would even think of doing something like that?”

Harry gave her a contemplative look while she was ranting about that unknown man. He would not tell her his theory about the identity of the man. He wondered how she would react if the identity of the guy was given in the future. Would she deny it despite proof of it? Would she accept it and whisper that he must have had a reason? Would she realise that Dumbledore was only human and that, sometimes, his decisions were not the best for anyone or everyone?

Harry wondered...

Here and there, students were horrified, sure but also surprised at the response of the Boy-Who-Lived. They... would have expected him to agree to anything. He was usually very helpful even if some of them liked to ignore it. But then again, considering what he has just revealed...

Harry wasn't done, though.

“The same old man who f*cked up my life so much that, up until last month, I had bi-weekly meet-ups with my mind healer?

Harry took a shuddering breath. He could guess that a mind healer was a bit like a therapist or something. While part of him wanted to rebel at the thought, he knew that therapy could actually probably help. Still, he couldn't say he would be ecstatic at the idea of going to a shrink. From each side of him, the twins tightened their hold on their baby brother and glared at anyone who looked too intently.

All around him, the whispers picked up. Therapy was not brought up enough in the Wizarding World – although it existed. It was not spoken about enough, especially not in a school environment. Perhaps this projection of the future would do more good than just satisfy their curiosity; perhaps they would be able to broach some subjects like Mind healing and therapy.

We're talking about the same man who made my life a living hell, who could have prevented my parents' deaths? The same one who could have saved Regulus or proved my godfather's innocence but instead sat on his ass because his chess master plans were going oh so well? This is the same man who instead of fighting with his allies or at least giving a heads-up to the DMLE decided to give the responsibility to a bunch of untrained students and turn said students into Child Soldiers . I never trusted him much to begin with but I never thought he'd go this far.”

Harry paled and slumped against the twins, eyes rendered hazy from the dump of information. His parents... He knew his future self was angry and might be exaggerating some things but he must truly be thinking that the old man was indirectly involved in his parents' death.

“Who is Regulus?”

“Godfather? But... Harry's godfather is Sirius Bla... Oh. Oh, no.”

Harry heard no one of it. His ears were ringing but he couldn't hear anything and his eyelids were heavy. He sighed when Fred gently patted his head.

“What- Child Soldiers? Are they talking about the big conflict?” Vaisey asked from the Slytherin table.

It was quiet for a few seconds until Eno Aoki (from Ravenclaw), opened his mouth:

“Let's be honest, with everything we've heard so far, from titbits coming from other students' future to now... It sounds more like a war than just a conflict. Let's not sugarcoat it.”

A heavy silence followed his words.

Sure, some had thought about it but nobody had dared to say it... until now that was.

But then...

“Why would the adults hide behind children?”

That question brought Harry back to Earth snorted:

“Because that's what they do.”

He didn't mean to say that out loud but apparently he did. He only noticed when a few shocked looks turned to him. Oops. He was not supposed to show his distrust in adults.

“Mr Potter! This is simply not true,” McGonagall scolded him but she flinched when a twin pair of hazel eyes glared at her.

“Oh yeah?” George said with a growl in his voice. “Name one instance, professor. One instance of big trouble at school, in the past few years-”

“-that was resolved by adults and not by a bunch of students?” Fred continued.

Only silence answered them and George leaned back in his seat, satisfaction dripping from him. He knew they were right and now, everyone else knew too. Of course, if they had used their brains, they would have come to that realisation a long time ago; it was common knowledge that Quirrell did some very bad things to the school and tried to kill Harry. It was common knowledge that Harry and Ron received special prizes in their second year and that the Petrifications completely stopped after that. You didn't have to be a genius to connect the dots.

Fred and George exchanged a sombre look, filled with determination. They would never leave Harry alone. They would never abandon him. They swore it.

At the Slytherin table, Jason Urquhart -who had connected the dots- chuckled lowly:

“A chess master, uh. He got him all figured out.”

Peregrine Derrick (who had also realised what it was about) was focused on something else:

“You know how you all said that he was Dumbledore's poster boy? Turns out he never trusted him during all this time. He played us all.”

And wasn't that the truth? They all fell for it. Well, most of them anyway.

“What are you talking about? Why are you mentioning Dumbledore now?”

Peregrine gave them a flat look.

“Seriously? Are you that slow to process it?”

“It was -”

“Do you DENY It?”

The Auror doesn't dare to and Harry looks at him with contempt.

Miles Bletchley stared in shock and disgust.

“He's not denying it.”

Graham Montague snorted:

“Of course not. Why would he?”

He sounded just as disgusted as Miles but refused to explain his thoughts.

Hermione was staring at the screen in incomprehension. How could it be? The headmaster would never... Well, he did some questionable things in the past -like in their first year- but... he wouldn't... He wouldn't do these things, right? She had to be wrong; it couldn't be him Harry was talking about.

“What is this about proving his godfather's innocence?” An Unspeakable mumbled, making a note to drop by the Archives Room later that day.

“That's what I thought. I won't do it. If you want someone to sing the praises of the dear late Albus Dumbledore, you should probably ask Hermione and Ron. Dumbledore could do no wrong in their eyes.”

Gasps of shock echoed in the Great Hall as the identity of the man was revealed to all. They couldn't believe what they had just heard. Even those who hated or scorned Dumbledore found themselves staring, dumbfounded at the screen.

Draco couldn't believe his eyes. He never liked Dumbledore but he never thought the old man would do things like that. It was... It was unbelievable.

Hermione bit her lips at that. Was it just her or... No, she must have misunderstood his facial expressions. For a second, she thought she saw bitterness and resentment when he talked about them but no. That couldn't be it; after all, he didn't mention it earlier when he talked to... Dolohov (was it?) about his friends back in Britain. Still, she liked to think that she would have stopped Harry from leaving. Why would he leave? If he had a tattoo shop in America (a tattoo shop? What an odd idea. Harry never told her he wanted to do that) then, clearly, that meant that he wasn't living in the UK. Sure, magical transports made it easy to go from one point to another but still. To get an international portkey/floo required a lot of paperwork and proper authorization and to have one that worked every day? There was even more paperwork involved. But why would Harry leave? Sure... What she heard made her doubt the headmaster but... there had to be an explanation, right?

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She wasn't sure there was an appropriate explanation for all of that but she wasn't ready to face reality yet. She would, eventually but not at the moment. She couldn't.

The younger students turned betrayed eyes toward the headmaster, staring at him as if he had killed their families in front of them.

“Harry...”

“Dumbledore always thought he knew best but he was wrong. I think you should leave.”

With those words, Harry turns around and stumbles out of the living room. Kingsley is about to leave but the twins arrive at that moment, surprised to see the man there. //

Katie Bell whistled upon seeing the twins. Sure they saw them in 1996 but now they looked every bit the businessmen and looked very mature like this although they retained their mischievous aura and colourful outfits.

“Uh, so the Weasley twins do live with Harry Potter,” Marietta Edgecombe whispered, almost giggling.

Stephen Cornfoot gave her a flat look:

“Yes, they do. Are you only now realising it?”

The older Ravenclaw glared at him before pointedly ignoring him. Anthony Goldstein rolled his eyes:

“Ignore her. She thinks she's the most intelligent person in the room.”

“Spoiler alert: she's not,” Michael Corner added playfully to his friends.

// The twins greet him politely but the tone of the conversation changes rather abruptly when the older man starts talking:

“Ah, boys, just in time. Could you please convince Harry to make the speech for Dumble-”

The twins' eyes narrow at the name and rage flashes in their eyes. //

“Get out,” George bites out.

“But -”

“OUT!” Fred roars, furious.

More than one student jumped, be it at the sudden yell or because of the glare the twins from the future were sporting. Hermione shivered; she wouldn't like to be subjected to that glare. Even Draco Malfoy, at the Slytherin table, had to admit that it was scary. No one had ever seen the Weasley twins so angry before. Even when one of the twins had been cursed by an older student in their second year, it hadn't been that bad.

Minerva pursed her lips but internally, she was worried. Did they screw up so badly that their former students didn't trust any of them anymore? Did her former Mentor truly do all those things? Did his lack of action truly lead to those things? Was Sirius Black truly innocent? All those questions were jumbling in her head and she didn't know which one was the most important anymore.

The scene disappeared and reappeared, showing a dark corridor and then a room with no light on. Humanoid shapes could be seen; the twins were kneeling in front of a curled-up figure. Ragged breaths could be heard; it sounded like the other person – Harry- was in the middle of a panic attack, sobbing.

Fred growled, feeling angry and protective all of a sudden. He gently took Harry's hand in his and squeezed it delicately. He was aware of his own strength and did not wish to hurt his honorary brother. It wasn't often that Harry had panic attacks but it did happen every once in a while – often enough that the twins had learned how to deal with it.

“f*ck,” Theodore Nott whispered, eyes wide.

“What? What's going on?” another Slytherin muttered, confused.

“He's having a panic attack,” the 4^th year replied before briefly explaining what it was.

“What's that?” another asked.

The scene dissolved while the twins were trying to calm Harry down. When another one appeared, it seemed that some time had passed, maybe thirty minutes, an hour or something along those lines.

// Harry is lying on the bed, dull eyes staring at nothing. Fred is sitting next to him. George is kneeling on the floor, in front of Harry. //

The twins looked worried which was understanding considering how Harry looked at the moment. Terence swallowed, feeling bile rise in his throat. He heard the students muttering in concern but didn't listen to them. He was too preoccupied by the sight of Harry, lying on the bed, seemingly not completely there. There were traces of tears on his cheeks and his eyes were red-rimmed and swollen.

“I'm telling you,” Mandy Brocklehurst whispered to her friends. “They're dating.”

“Mandy now is not the time. Can't you read the room?”

Mandy pouted. She could read the room but she also wanted her Housemates to admit she was right. Not that she was the only one believing that they were a thing but still.

Hermione felt a pang of worry as she and Ron exchanged a look. They had never seen Harry like this.

“I've never seen Potter looking so... lifeless,” Adrian Pucey whispered to his friends.

He winced when he saw Terence flinch and he muttered an apology.

“It's not good for you, Harry. They keep taking and taking and taking from you... But they never gave anything back.”

Ron tilted his head to the side, frowning.

“Who is he talking about?”

Hermione rolled her eyes:

“We don't know, Ron.”

Fred had an idea though. He knew he must have talking about Wizarding Britain as a whole. Always and always taking from Harry without ever helping him in return. They didn't deserve him and they shouldn't use him whenever they felt like it. Especially not when they would only discard him (and discredit him) when he was of no use to them.

“Who are they talking about?” Terence whispered, pale-faced. “Guys, who are they talking about?”

Adrian didn't reply because while he did have a theory, he knew it would make Terence sad. Besides, he could be wrong.

The others didn't reply because they had no idea what was going on.

“Fred's right. You're suffocating in this place. We were thinking...”

George trails off, looking slightly unsure. Harry's eyes follow him, showing that he's listening.

“We were thinking,” Fred continues. “How about we leave this place?”

“Huh?”

“Oh, are they going to move together in another house?” Marietta Edgecombe asked with a giddy tone.

Terence froze because that suggestion sounded a lot more... final than a simple move from a flat to another flat or house. No... it sounded almost like... Of course. That would explain how Harry found himself in America. How could he have been so stupid?

He ignored the lump that made its home in his throat upon coming to this realisation and sighed. It was probably for the best. Still, it didn't make him feel any less lovesick.

// Harry blinks back to awareness, his eyes growing slightly less dull. Slowly, he leans on his elbows.

“But what about your shop?” he asks quietly.

“What about the shop?” those who hadn't realised what was going on asked.

Terence rolled his eyes.

George smirked:

“Well, the shop is doing pretty well. We were thinking about expanding our brand and opening another one.

The students exchanged wide, excited looks. They figured the twins would be successful when they saw the very populated joke shop earlier. They just didn't think it would be doing so well that they would be able to open a second shop so soon (two-three years?) after the opening of their shop.

“Ooh, do you think they will open a new shop in Hogsmeade? That would be so cool!”

“Yeah but with Zonko already stationed in Hogsmeade, I don't know if that would be a good idea.”

“Yeah, two joke shops in a small village might not be the idea of the century.”

“We can see it in your eyes, Harry. Staying in Britain is destroying you,” the second twin adds, carding long fingers through wild black locks.

It hurt Terence to watch Harry being so cuddly with the twins but it hurt him even more to see Harry so... sad and empty.

“WHAT!?”

“So they... truly live in America in the future?”

“But they can't! They can't leave the UK!”

Fred glared at the student who had said this.

“And why in the everloving f*ck not?”

The student squeaked and gave a terrified look, the colour draining from his face.

Padma Patil gave her Housemate a sympathetic look. Tough luck. She would have never been dumb enough to make such a comment; not after having noticed the increasingly dark looks sported by the Weasley twins or how Harry Potter seemed to shrink into himself as this part of the projection continued... as well as the comments becoming louder.

“They screwed up,” Graham Montague remarked casually as he and the others watched the student shrink down in fear.

“Why the f*ck couldn't we just get the hell out of this sh*tty place!?”

Even Marcus Flint barely suppressed the urge to make himself smaller.

“Mr Weasley!” McGonagall scolded him.

Tough luck, indeed, Padma though wrily. Perhaps, she should have done something sooner. As it was, the Weasley twins closed their mouths but the look they gave their Head of House told everyone what they thought of her as a teacher. Obviously, she wasn't an adult they trusted to talk to. Was there any adult they trusted though?

As Padma was thinking this, the twins from the future were telling (or more like repeating – perhaps Harry hadn't paid too much attention the first time around?) Harry that this place (Britain) kept taking and taking from him until he had nothing less to give but that it never gave anything back.

“You're suffocating here, darling. It's killing you.”

Terence barely repressed the urge to whine. It wasn't even his jealousy manifesting this time. It was the pain in the twins' voices, the agony on Harry's face and the pregnant pause that followed George's (was it George? Terence wasn't too sure) statement.

For a moment, there was no sound apart from the shuddering breath Harry released before he started hyperventilating.

He watched as the twins worked in tandem to calm the younger man down and his heart ached for the green-eyed wizard.

Fortunately, the scene dissolved soon enough but the atmosphere in the Great Hall was still heavy and full of worry.

[Conservatory Garden, New York City – June 2002]

The next scene opened on a formal-looking garden. It was the evening, the sun was slowly going down and people were walking around or talking in small groups. One of those groups included Harry and the Weasley twins. They were laughing with a couple of teenagers and clearly in the middle of a conversation.

One of the younger teens seemed to be talking specifically to Harry and the young man's eyes widened:

“Wait. Wait, wait, wait, wait! I'm- I'm the worst person to ask this, Lenny.”

George's eyes twinkled with mischief and he exchanged a look with his twin.

“Oh, I can only imagine what they're talking about.”

“At least we know it's not about Valentine's Day love letters since it's in June,” Fred whispered with a playful grin.

Harry almost groaned.

// Seeing the teens' curious gaze, Harry sighs and continues:

“It took me two years to realise I had a crush on this guy (“True!” Fred chirps in, looking gleeful), and six more years to do something about it. In the end, I'm not even the one who made the first move. I only ever had one crush and I'm going on a date with him tonight. So, really... I'm the worst person to ask for relationship advice from.”

Whispers erupted in the room.

Katie Bell tilted her head to the side:

“Girls, I don't think we'll win the betting pool.”

Alicia and Angelina's heads whipped towards her.

“What? Why?”

“Like most people, we betted that Harry and the twins were dating. But it doesn't look like it. Harry might be dating one of the twins, but not both.”

Angelina slumped in her seat and Alicia whined quietly.

“Damn it.”

Meanwhile, all over the Great Hall, students' reactions were varying but all in all, it was a general bewildered “HA!?” of surprise and shock. What? Did that mean that the Boy-Who-Lived never dated while at Hogwarts? Or even after graduating from Hogwarts? What? Why? Even if he wasn't dating the person he liked (one of the twins? Not both?), he could have wanted to experiment or something. Like most people!

At the Slytherin table, Terence perked up, feeling suddenly hopeful; weren't the twins dating Harry? It wasn't true? Could it be that he dated neither of the twins? He shouldn't hype himself up so much but he couldn't help the feeling of hope. His friends weren't helping either.

“Did you hear that, Ter?”

Terence bit his lips and nodded, ducking his head to hide his blushing face.

“You should go talk to him.”

“What? No! I can't do that!”

Back at the Gryffindor table, Harry groaned and buried his burning face in his hands. Internally though, he was screaming. Did he-... He shook his head. It took him a while but he was starting to come to face with the fact that he had a thing for the former Seeker of the Slytherin team. It was... a big thing because Harry never had a crush on anyone before. And apparently, he wouldn't have a crush on anyone else. He knew, deep inside that it was only Terence. But then... His face turned red. Did he- Did he have a date with Higgs in the future? Terence Higgs!?

Harry whimpered. The twins didn't help. He heard Fred chuckle in amusem*nt as George patted the green-eyed boy on his fluffy head.

“Wait, I thought he was dating Chang?”

Cho Chang rolled her eyes:

“I don't know who invented this rumour but no. Harry and I get along but we're not dating.”

Sure, she wouldn't have minded if there had been more but Harry never shown any interest in her and Diggory had started to look at her like there might be something. She wanted to see where that could get them. She might even find love with him. Who knew what the future held?

“Well, yeah,” the boy - Lenny, replies. “But in the end, you still got a date with him.”

“And we can't even say anything because that guy liked you even before you started liking him so if anything. He was just as much of a chicken in the relationship department,” one of the twins adds in, looking gleeful.

Surprise and incomprehension were coming from the student body.

“What? But... Isn't he dating one of them?”

Cho Chang tilted her head to the side:

“I think so? I mean, one of them could be taunting the other. That sounds like something they would do. Look at George. Is that George? I think it's George. Well, George doesn't look too happy to me.”

“You're seeing things. He looks the same as always.”

Upon hearing the redhead's statement, Adrian leaned forward to whisper to Marcus:

“That reminds me of someone.”

Marcus chuckled. That reminded them all of someone. They wouldn't say anything because they didn't want to get Terence's hopes up for nothing but they were all thinking the same thing. Still, the world was big and there might be another person pining just as hard as Terence and just as chicken as him. Then again...

“It does sound like they met each other at Hogwarts,” Miles whispered. “Six to eight years... they must have met or sometime when Potter was... what... a third year?”

“That's when he figured it out,” Vaisey said. “They might have met before but, yeah. That sounds like they met at Hogwarts.”

“It could have been during the summer vacations,” Terence protested weakly.

Everyone ignored him, much to his dismay.

Did he have a rival at Hogwarts? Terence wondered gloomily.

“Speaking of date, shouldn't you go and get ready?” one of the twins asks, raising his eyebrow suggestively.

Harry squeaks upon realising how late it is and starts fussing with the teens until the boy named “Lenny” tells him to go. //

Harry whimpered.

“Why am I like this?” he whispered quietly.

Fred chuckled and leaned forward to whisper to his ear:

“I wouldn't be surprised if those kids called you “mum”,” he teased him.

Harry raised his head to glare at him. And why “mum” anyway? Why not “dad”? Was he missing something?

“I don't get the joke.”

“There's no joke, darling.”

À suivre...

Posté le: 17 juin 2024