Tempus Fugit

The last thing he saw was a brilliant green light explode out of Malfoy's wand, and the accompanying spell.

"AVADA KEDAVRA!"

Harry threw his hands up to protect himself, knowing that it was futile even as he did it. There was a flurry of motion, and then a loud roaring voice.

"You're alright now, boy," a familiar voice said, and Harry lowered his arms. The light had frozen a few feet from his face, lighting up James and Sirius with a pretty green glow. Harry's heart leapt up into his throat as he realized how close he'd come to death yet again.

Curiously enough, everything had stopped moving, the light included. Everything except him, that is. He stepped out of the path of the green flash, and peered at the Slytherins, also lit by the glow of the killing curse. Malfoy's face was twisted as he shouted the words that would end Harry's life. Severus Snape looked on, cold detached amusement etched into his features. Regulus was throwing himself at Malfoy, a panicked expression in his eyes. He'd just grabbed onto Malfoy's robe when he froze, words pouring their way out of his throat. Harry wondered briefly what he was going to say, and turned to James and Sirius.

Sirius' face was twisted with rage and surprise, his wand half-drawn to hex Malfoy or more likely Snape, but James had an expresson of pure horror on his face, and he was lunging for Harry.

Not quite for him, Harry realized, moving back to his original position. In front of him. James was in the middle of leaping in front of the killing curse for him, the way Lily had done that fateful Halloween night. Harry felt tears spring to his eyes.

"Come boy, we're going to my office now to discuss this. The spell won't hold for long, and we need to be away from here. Good of you to warn me that you were coming, however." Harry blinked at the familiarity of the tones, and looked up into the smiling face of Albus Dumbledore.

"I've guessed some of what has transpired," he said as Harry threw himself at the old wizard. "I've listened at keyholes for the rest, but I would dearly like an explanation straight from the horses mouth, as it were." He didn't react as Harry latched onto him sobbing for all he was worth, more than to wrap his arms around the younger boy and hold him while he cried out his grief and shock.

"I'm sorry," Harry said finally, twisting Regulus' kerchief nervously. "I didn't mean to cry on you. It's just that, seeing you now, after.."

"After you saw me die, you mean," Dumbledore said, and Harry nodded. "Not all prophets are mad, dear boy," he said, and levitated the still frozen James and Sirius from their positions. Harry quickly pushed a statue of a pretty looking maiden into the path of the green light, afraid that if nothing stopped it, the spell would simply keep going until it actually hit something, or someone. "Very good, young Potter," Dumbledore said, and ushered him out of the hallway and into his office. It was a bit of a trick getting James and Sirius' bodies through the doorway, and up the stairs, but together they managed it. Dumbledore righted them, and Harry took Sirius' wand at the last second, afraid he might hex Dumbledore before he realized they were out of danger.

At once, they burst back into motion, James clinging to Harry and shielding him from the perceived threat. Sirius whipped his hand out, and had the first few syllables of what promised to be a nasty hex when he realized that he didn't have a wand anymore. James turned, and realized where they were, and glanced at Harry, who was still shaking.

"You weren't kidding when you said he'd try to kill you, were you mate?" Sirius asked quietly when Harry handed his wand back. Harry mutely shook his head.

"Now, boys, I'd like you to explain." Dumbledore said, seating himself gently behind his desk. "Lemon drop?" he offered, and they all three turned him down politely.

Harry went through the whole ordeal up until the scene in the hallway, and Dumbledore listened without interrupting.

"Well," he said finally when Harry finished speaking. The handkerchief Regulus had given him was looking a little worse for wear, but Harry clung to it like a lifeline. "You have been through something, haven't you?" Harry didn't know what to say to that, and simply kept quiet. "I've never heard of a Portus spell going wrong in such a way, and I doubt that we could get you back the same way. I will not have you all obliviated just yet, but it will happen as soon as we get young mister Potter here home again."

"You can obliviate Malfoy if you'd like," Sirius said, adding a touch of levity. Harry snorted, but James hadn't quite recovered from the shock. They'd been taught about the three Unforgiveables, but he never thought he'd see one used against his own flesh and blood. One of them would have been dead if not for Dumbledore's interference.

"I fear I may have to," Dumbledore said, ignoring the jest. "I cannot have students - from this time or the future - simply going around trying to kill people."

A sudden banging from the door way started the four of them, but Harry relaxed when he heard a familiar shout. "DUMBLEDORE! GET DOWN HERE! PLEASE, WE NEED YOU!"

"What the devil is my brother doing downstairs?" Sirius wondered, and Dumbledore rose to answer his shouts. Harry's attention was drawn by Fawkes, and the sorting hat, and he moved closer to them.

"Hello, Fawkes," he said quietly, and was rewarded with a soft chirp. "You don't know me yet, but I remember you. You saved my life in second year." Fawkes allowed Harry to stroke twice along his plumage before ruffling his feathers, and Harry pulled away. Sirius was gaping at him; Fawkes was notably an irritable bird, and wouldn't let anyone but Dumbledore near him, and gods forbid that anyone attempt to touch the blasted phoenix. Harry moved to the sorting hat next, and ran his fingers along it's course edges.

He wasn't sure what compelled him to put it on, but he noticed that it fit his fourteen year old head a lot better than his eleven year old head.

Well now, what have we here? I've never met you before in my existence, but I read in your thoughts that I've already sorted you into Gryffindor.

An accident sent me into the past. I'm not from this time.

So I see. You would have done well in Slytherin, you know. Better than you think, even. Slytherin does not make a bad wizard. It is the bad wizards who make Slytherin. Regulus should not have been in Slytherin, but he protested as firmly as you will about going into Gryffindor. Harry smiled at the image, and pulled the hat from his head. He saw the sword flicker there, and a voice echoed through his mind despite the fact he'd taken off the hat. Very well, in Slytherin, I think, but Gryffindor is where your heart is.

Harry turned around at his name, and found himself with an armful of panicked Regulus. "I begged him not to, Harry, I tried, I really did, but then he did it anyway and you just vanished and I was so scared that he'd killed you!"

"Don't be a complete twat, Reggie," Sirius snapped. "The killing curse kills you, it doesn't make you disappear." James breathed deeply, and then leaned over to Sirius, and whispered something in his ear.

Harry reassured Regulus that he was in one piece, and the Slytherin mask fell down over his features once his fright had passed. He leapt away from Harry as though he'd been pushed, and straightened his robes. "I'm sorry," he said quietly, and Harry smiled at him. The hat's words about Regulus floated through his mind. Should have been in Gryffindor, all right. If only Sirius were nicer to him.

Sirius was staring at the two of them like they'd turned purple and started honking like geese, and James was smirking. Behind them, Dumbledore was doing his enigmatic smile again. Harry suddenly felt as if he'd been caught snogging the ministers daughter in the back of the church.

"Er..." he said, at a loss. Regulus tossed his head, suddenly realizing he'd had an audience, and Harry could feel the embarrassment radiating off of him.

"See you at lunch, Regulus?" Harry asked suddenly, and Regulus nodded, leaving with as much dignity as he could gather after such an undignified entrance. Dumbledore faded into the background as well, leaving the three Gryffindor's in his office to talk in privacy.

"Do you have a crush on my brother?" Sirius asked, cocking his head. "Prongs tells me you haven't let go of that handkerchief since he gave it to you, and we all saw his little display just now."

"I'm not... I don't think I'm gay, though," Harry said, wondering if he did have a crush on the Slytherin. "Isn't the question whether or not Regulus likes me?"

"Regulus is a stuck-up pure-blood brat," Sirius snorted. "He wouldn't know homosexual urges if they came up and slapped him on the arse."

"I can't like him," Harry said. "I barely know him." Sirius looked as though he wasn't finished, but James stood up.

"Well, I for one have had way too much excitement for this early. Dumbledore know's you're here, and will figure something out. In the meantime, I think I'd actually like to go spend some time studying with Lily. I'm sure Remus wouldn't mind your company, Pads," He made his way towards the door, and Harry felt suddenly excluded, just as quickly as he'd been included the night before.

*

"What the fuck?" Draco Malfoy looked around, stunned as Potter and his new cronies simply vanished from before them, replaced by a pretty stone carving. The spell hit it dead center, and the poor statue exploded, littering the hallway with debris. Regulus gasped, and fled from him, literally picking up his robes and fleeing. Snape chuckled under his breath.

"I was half afraid you wouldn't have the guts to do it," he said. "Or that you'd say it, and nothing would happen."

"Have a little faith, Professor," Malfoy said cockily. "That was too obvious, though. Did you see the other one with glasses?"

"Potter?" Snape asked, looking at him curiously. "The two with him were Sirius and James, Remus, Lily, and Peter Pettigrew's favourite friends. The five of them make life a living hell for me, though Evans is better." His voice took on a dreamy tone. "Much better, actually. I don't know what she sees in that pure-blooded piece of shit." He scowled, and Draco rolled his eyes.

"Make it hell back, Professor." It was a simple suggestion, but Severus' eyes lit up like he'd just announced that Christmas was early.

"So you've proven to me that you can cast the spell. They still escaped. What will you do now?" Draco could hear the wheels turning as Severus put his Slytherin brain to good use. The conversation was merely a distraction for him.

"Well, I think I'm going to make good on 'make their lives hell' first. A bit of revenge for my favourite professor. Did you see the look on Potter's face? I thought he was going to shit his pants!"

"Harry's?" Severus asked, trying to clarify.

"No, the older one. James, isn't it? My Potter is much more accustomed to dealing with dark spells than that." He sounded almost proud of it, like a parent boasting about their childs marks or activities. "Come on. I want to start with Potter senior. He likes that red-head, does he? Like father, like son, I suppose."

"What's that mean?" Severus had to walk quickly to keep up with Draco's long strides, but he did it willingly.

"It means that ickle Harry-kins has a red-headed girlfriend where I come from, and that I think it's mildly creepy that they have the same tastes."

"I heard rumours that they have group orgies in their dorm rooms at night. With each other. Sharing similar taste in women can't be as bad as that."

Draco wrinkled his nose, feeling sick. "That was more than I ever wanted to know in my life, Professor. Ew. Disgusting. I'll never rid myself of images of Finnegan, Weasley and Potter now. I'll never forgive you if I have nightmares tonight, Professor."

Severus smirked, obviously not caring in the least that he had spoiled Draco's appetite. "You'll recover, I'm sure," he replied drolly. Draco flashed him a grin.

"So, Professor. What do you think we should do to him? I never was one for pranks, but I'm sure we can come up with something."

Severus considered it. "I've got an idea that will take a month, but will be worth it if it works."

"Oh?" Draco's eyes lit up in almost demonic glee. "What is it?"

"Polyjuice."

*

Harry wandered down from Dumbledore's office, watching the gargoyle leap away from the door to admit him through. He thanked it briefly, and sighed. Regulus' interruption had cut off any discussion he may have had with Dumbledore, and Sirius' questioning about Regulus put him off.

I'm... mostly straight! He argued to himself. I've never cared about other boys before in my life. One incident doesn't make me gay, does it? But I don't have to be gay to like Regulus. He was kind to me. It doesn't mean I've got a crush on him.

His wanderings took him onto the third floor, and onto the corridor where Fluffy was - would be - and curiousity drove him onwards.

The room was curiously empty. Peeking around quietly, and half-expecting Filch to pop out of every corner, Harry snuck further into the room. He looked down, and saw the trap door that lead to the series of chambers hiding the philosopher's stone. He suddenly recalled the size of Fluffy, and the fear he'd felt as an eleven year old with his first friends, suddenly faced with the enormous three headed dog. He knelt down and his fingers brushed the wood of the door; he was seized with an urge to open it, and go down, just have a look around, he told himself even as he was opening it. The air wafting up from the darkness was damp, and smelled of old, unused basements and mold. It wasn't particularly pleasant, and Harry's nose wrinkled as he breathed in the dank air.

One last look around the dusty room, and he realized that he'd completely missed the other door in the back. Promising himself he'd just pop down into the next chamber and see what was down there, and then he'd come up and check out the previously unknown door. Reaching into the floor, the found a ladder.

"Lumos," he whispered, and the ladder was revealed to go all the way down, but it looked rickety. It was clearly rotting in some places, and Harry's nose wrinkled again. When was the last time someone used this room? he wondered, and placed his weight cautiously.

When the ladder didn't weave or buckle, he stepped down again, testing his weight carefully, and keeping his wand in his mouth to free his hands up. When he made it to the bottom, he sighed in relief, and the last rung snapped as he was stepping off of it. The surprise sent him tumbling backwards, and when he righted himself, he jumped back, aiming his wand for a hex. The person he'd bumped into did the same, and Harry cast Lumos again. The room lit up to reveal the Mirror of Erised, and he whirled around, closing his eyes. For a few moments, he was almost ready to simply walk away from it without looking, but the desire to see his parents with him again, as his parents, was too much temptation, and he walked slowly to the mirror.

He opened his eyes once he reached it, and looked in. Expecting his parents, he was shocked when the two people pictured with him were the same age - or at least the same size - as he was. They were dark, though, simply silhouettes of figures about his size and height, and he could only see himself there, standing between the two shadows. Puzzled, he peered closer, then heard a whumpf from somewhere down the corridor. Leaving the mirror, he hastened back up the ladder, breathing hard.

He shut the trap door and pulled the bolt to just as another muffled thump hit the ladder, and something started climbing. Hyperventilating, Harry wondered what he'd just escaped. It scrabbled at the door, but made no more noise than that save for a single long, uninterrupted whine. Harry bolted for the door, and had himself through it and the door closed behind him before he realized that he'd gone through the wrong door.

He now found himself on the other side of a strange door, in a strange hallway. The walls glowed as if lit from within, and the lights cast strange shadows on his body, and from his body to the floor. He felt strangely comfortable with them, which automatically put him on his guard. It seemed to be nothing more than a long hallway, with strange bluish lights emanating from the walls. Finding nothing more interesting than that, he turned around to leave, and found that the hallway stretched on in either direction, the wall with the door he'd come through gone as if it had never existed.

Scared now, Harry began running, hoping to find something that told him the way out, the way back.

No matter how fast he ran, he didn't seem to go anywhere. Finally he collapsed, tired of running and not going anywhere. Instead of hitting the floor, he passed straight through it, falling.

The last thing he remembered seeing was a head of dark hair and a pair of shoulders right before he landed on whomever it was, and blacked out.

*

James tossed the snitch up into the air, catching it quickly. Sirius walked quietly beside him.

"You don't think he's really got something for my brother, do you?" the animagus finally asked. James stopped, catching the snitch in his hand and keeping it there.

"I don't think he's ever considered it before," he said. "He kinda freaked out when we woke up. He asked about it, but I didn't tell him. I told him to ask you."

"Jee, thanks. Leave it to me to explain that?" Sirius rolled his eyes, and stretched. "I almost wish it were full moon tonight. I want to go running."

"Who says we had to wait until full moon?" James asked impishly. "We'll just go tonight. Maybe we can get Harry out, too, and start teaching him about being an animagus. I wonder if Dumbledore will let him start taking classes until he goes back?"

"Where's the rest of your posse, Potter?" Came a sneering voice from behind them. James and Sirius tensed, turning as one to glare at the blond Slytherin newcomer.

James opened his mouth to hex him, but Sirius put a hand on his shoulder. "Prongs, if we want out tonight we can't get detention. Come on."

"You shouldn't let him wander around unprotected, boys. You know I'm fully capable of casting that curse. I wouldn't hesitate to use it again, and next time that old fool won't be around to haul your arses out of trouble."

James held Sirius back from physically attacking the smirking blond, and the two Gryffindors continued on their way. When they were out of ear-shot, Malfoy grinned to himself. "Can't wait to see you in a month, boys."

---

Okay, I've been... struggling with this chapter, which is why it's so short. >__< I wanted it to be longer, I really did, but it's fighting me here. I've got some plans, but most of this is being directed by the characters themselves. I had no idea that Harry was going to find a wonky corridor when I started writing tonight XDD It may come into play later, or it may not. I suppose we'll all just have to wait and find out.

NOTE: I LOOOOVE reviews. Hits aren't enough, if you liked the fic, please review. Even if you hated it, give me some criticism (flames will be disregarded) about where it went wrong.