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Chapter Text

It's the end of the fucking world.

It's the end of the world and Harry won’t even look either of them in the eye, too busy too engrossed in his own mind.
Voldemort's back, Dumbledore's dead, war is approaching and Harry won’t even look at them .
Hermione and Ron sit side by side on the Gryffindor red sofa, the common roofs empty, barren of everyone but the three of them, it's too late for anyone else to be there.

Harry's hunched over on the floor by the fire, it's a habit that's been made redundant no real use to it anymore, but it is a habit regardless.
He’s flicking through the pages of a book like Hermione after a test when she checks to see if all her answers were right.
They sit in silence, no sound but the occasional crackle of the fire.

It takes a while but eventually the green eyed boy looks up at his two best friends, manic and Ron worries about the shake of his pupils. He's honestly considering dragging him to Madam Pomfreys to check for a concussion.
She would be there anyway, not after what has just happened.

‘What if we go back and fix everything?’ Harry blurts ‘What if we change the past?.’
He's gone mad.
Ron thinks he certainly looks the part, sweat slick hair clinging to his face, clothes ripped with damp patches where the heat of the fire had less reach, eyes just a shade brighter than usual like they always get when his magic thumbs to the surface.

Magic has always clung to Harry in the inexplicable way it only does to the chosen one.

‘Harry..’ Hermione soothes ‘there's no way to change the past you know this’

Ah so they’re both mad.
Well, isn’t this fantastic? Both of Ron's best friends have gone mental, why did ten year old Ron decide Seamus and Dean or hell even Neville weren't good best friend candidates now Rons gonna have to go mad too.
Well atleast wars a good time to do that.

‘No hermione,’ Ron winces ‘there's no way to change the past with a restricted time turner but there's not a single recording of unrestricted use’

What in Merlin's name was a time turner and why is Hermione actually considering it.
She twirls then tugs hard on a chunk of curly hair the way she always does when she's thinking, in the way that personally he thinks, should make every person around her fear for their safety.

Harry's grin is far too wide.

Hermione stands and just about rips the book from the boy's hands, her previous gentleness lost to the thirst for knowledge.
she starts flipping with the same mania Harry had earlier, this is far more familiar.

Harry's smiling bright like the fire, it burns.

Harry's shaking.
Shaking like he had after the troll, after the chamber, shaking with the same horrible mixture of relief and adrenaline and he slumps into the sofa beside Ron sinking into his knit sweater.

Hermione continues to flick, she's got her notebook out now, the small leatherbound one that is seemingly always with her no matter the occasion.
Ron runs his hands through dark sweat soaked hair pulling the pieces from his face. He wonders if it is to comfort Harry or himself.
He desperately wants his friend to stop shaking.
He knows there is no fear of it , not really just the aftermath of adrenaline; nothing Ron can do but wait.
He still wishes he could stop it regardless.

‘Your right,’ Harry straightens bolts upward faster than a snitch, out of Ron's hold to look Hermione in the eyes as she stands looming over them ‘there's no record of unrestricted use but Harry that doesn't definitely mean we could change the past..’

Ahh yes.
Ron had almost forgotten they had gone mad. He does need to catch up with them on that.

‘But it doesn't mean we couldn't,’ Harry responds, ‘I am the chosen one after all, if any one could it would be me.’

Ron instinctively, smacks the back of his head, Harry doesn't even look back as he flips him off.

‘Look Harry’, Hermione talks slowly, softly as if she's talking to a stray cat; in all fairness to her Harry isn't far from that at the moment.
Wide eyed with a mop of black hair Ron wouldn't be shocked if he was a cat in another life Merlin knows he's skitzy enough for it.
‘If we did that we would have no way to tell if anything's changed, we might spend years only for it all to be useless.’

Harry opens his mouth as if to respond then he closes it pondering.
Ron is so lost.
‘See it would be better if we focus our efforts on the present aft-’
Harry bolts, nearly throwing himself off the edge of the sofa in a tangle of limbs.
By the time either of them can react he's scrambling up the stairs three at a time and Ron was wrong if Harry was definitely a deer in a past life.
He bounds up the old stairs already turning the corner by the time Ron and Hermione get to the base.
They both start to run up ron just a few steps ahead his hight giving him an advantage over hermione, not harry tho never harry
Harry may well be faster than both of them combined despite Ron's advantage, after all he was always good at escaping sticky situations.

Ron bumps his shoulder as he turns the corner near slamming into the wall to see the door to his own dorm flung wide open.
The dread in his stomach lightens slightly.

‘Merlin mate,’ Ron huffs as he runs into their dorm, Hermione only seconds behind him.
They find Harry kneeling by his bed frantically pulling out the junk he stores under it.
‘Harry, mate. You need to calm down, you scared us.’
He wonders if Harry can even hear him as he pulls out a glowing orb- the prophecy Ronald realises.
He didn't realise Harry had kept it.

‘We could use this-’
Ron is so lost, but that's ok because Hermione, as always, is not.

He turns to find her eyes clouded over in thought before she grins at him, eyes sparkling, he looks between his two best friends in the entire world smiling maniacally.

He almost feels like he's being left out of one big inside joke, he's not realy sure if he wants to be in on it.

Herinione pulls out a small golden ball out of her pocket, it looks vaguely like a snitch.

‘Let's do it, let's change the past.’

Chapter Text

‘I can't believe we’re actually doing this’ Hermione mumbles just loud enough for Harry to know it was meant for his ears.
Still it doesn't stop her from flicking through the newest book before tossing it onto the pile behind her, they've long since run out of more acceptable books, long since moved to books from the restricted section.
Ah well there is no one here to tell them off for it.
All staff are too busy with what Harry assumes is emergency meetings and the sun has yet to rise.
None of them have slept Hermione's still in the pajamas she was wearing when Ron came knocking on her door when Harry didn't come back to the dorm.
They had been waiting for him. They must have gotten quite the shock when Harry burst into the common room.
‘This is so illegal i hope you know how illegal this is,’ she picks up the next book.
Harry wants to laugh Herminoes love of rules is always funny, after all she never seems to be able to follow them herself. But, his chest feels too empty. He feels vaguely like he has been hollowed out, like someone had cut him open and scooped out his guts.
He can't laugh, not right now.

Ron returns, books stacked so high his eyes are nowhere to be seen.
He sets them down with a loud thump and they both watch the tower shake before its structure collapses, spilling out onto the floor.
Hermione sighs exasperatedly at them, ‘Men..’
‘You love us tho’ Ron taunts her, pulling Harry closer so their cheeks touch smiling like there's nothing wrong with the world, like Dumbledore isn't dead, like Snape didn't just kill him.
He smiles like Dumbledore's body isn't growing colder by the second.

Ron's warm.
Hermione's face twitches slightly upwards and with the two of them and just for a second Harry can pretend his world isn’t ending.

‘Sooo..’ Ron pulls away taking his warmth with him ‘what are you two, you know.. Doing?’
Hermione blinks at the boy owlishly Harry thinks he must be doing the same and it clicks for them in tandem Ron has no idea what happened with the time turner in 3rd year.
Ron has not had a clue what either of them were talking about for hours. Ron has just been running up and down getting books for them without a clue what was happening.
Hermione breaks into a fit of giggles.

‘Oh Merlin Ronald,’ she wheezes ‘do you just do everything your told’
Ron grins seemingly happy with the broken tension around them despite it being at his own expense.
Harry leans into Hermione's side and watches the boy smile. Letting the relaxed expression and laughter sink into his memory.
‘No Mione, i just do what you tell me to’, he practically sings and Harry feels her sides shake before he hears her laugh.

Perfect.

They’re so perfect.

‘Wait , no say that again’ Ron stares at the two of them like they have reached a new low in his eyes.
He stares at them as if they have completely lost their mind. He acting like this is so much worse than walking straight into the chamber of secrets with Lockhart in charge.
Honestly time travel may be the better option.

‘We’re going to travel through time.’ Harry explains as Hermione nods her focus now returned to the books scattered out on the table in front of her.
‘Yeah i got that part,’ Ron 's voice pitches up sounding incredulous ‘just.. Well, how?’

Hermione holds up the old time turner, face still turned down.
‘With this’
The way Ron's face twist says it all harry takes pity,

‘It's a tool that helps you manipulate time, but you can't really change anything with it, your just repeating yourself’ he explains to Ron's increasing incredulity he goes to open his mouth but harry persists ‘but there's a chance that if we remove the unspeakable’s restrictions we could change that’

Ron seems to contemplate this, sinking deeper in his chair biting his lower lip.

‘And what if that doesn't work?’ Ron questions ‘What if we can't change the past?’
Hermione looks up at him completely straight faced eyes full of determination,
‘Then we come back to the present.’
They make eye contact shutting the rest of the world out,
‘How?’
‘We’ll figure that out if it comes to it.’ they always do after all

Ron shugs, forever loyal.
‘I guess we will.’
They smile and turn to Harry inviting him into their world, He smiles back
Oh Merlin, Harry might be the worst person alive, Dumbledore has been murdered and he can still bring himself to smile.

‘Oh..oh!’ Hermione chitters ‘oh merlin, how could i be so stupid, we've been looking at this all wrong. Ron,Harry go fetch rune books, anything on long term runes.’
She starts to write in a way that has to be magic eyes not leaving the book as she scribbles on the page. It's still more legible than Harry's handwriting, that's just not fair.
Ron salutes to open air and they both run to the runes section.
He may as well already add tampering with government restricted items to his long list of crimes.

Hogwarts students rise with the sun and with them the news of Dumbledore's death spreads like fiend fire.
The library quickly becomes unusable with the constant panicked chatter, even the first years know what this means for the wizarding world.
War is coming.
The younger year swarms Harry looking for a miracle asking him to save the like; it's that easy.
They really should avoid him if they want saving, he has a much larger record of people dying under his watch than surviving after all.

When it becomes unbearable they prep to leave.
Hermione stacks books on top of Ron's pile long past covering his eyes until she can no longer reach, they’re so lucky she’s short. Harry doesn't dare think what his back would be like if she was tall.
Only when Hermione is satisfied with the array of books, do they leave.

Weaving through crowded hallways, they break away into the narrower corridors there's far less foot traffic there.
They make their way to the room of requirement, him and Ron nearly blind, entirely dependent on their view of Hermione's shoes polished to perfection hitting the floor with small clicks of the heel.
She reads out sections of her singular book that sound like gibberish to Harry.
Truly the blind leading the blind.
‘The unspeakables department only crafts time turners with runes carved into their internal systems,’ she speaks, voice pitching just a tone higher in the way it always does when she knows she is right ‘so in theory we could disassemble this time turner and edit them.’

‘What if we fuck it up’ he questions ‘we dont exactly have a back up’
‘Then we break back into the department of mysteries, we've done it once already. What harm can a second break in do?’

Silence and then,
‘Sure, sounds good to me’ Ron the fucking lunatic, harry can just picture the lazy smile as he shrugs his shoulders like he didnt nearly shit his pants the last time.
Harry can't tell if he's stupid or loyal.
Maybe it's worse, maybe he's both.

He feels more than sees the door shift onto the wall in front of them, he hears it creak as Hermione opens it.
She takes half of his stack, setting it on what Harry now sees to be a large round table three chairs oddly close together in a way no decent home decorator would accept.
They sit in them side by side and Hermione continues to explain,

‘While there's no official records on the structure of a time turner, if we were to disassemble it ourselves we should, in theory, be able to figure out how to put it back together, and..’ she starts flicking open the books turning them to seemingly random pages before spreading them out across the table. ‘While there's no official records that doesn't mean others haven't theorized’.

He looks closer at the pages, some yellowed with age, some untouched covered in dust other than a series of finger pints at the edges of pages
He even sees a few so old that time turners do not even go by the same name. Each one talks about the internal mechanics of a time turner.
If he's honest he didn't even know that many books about time turners exist. Hermione really is brilliant.

‘Our only problem is-’
The door swings open, Harry stands ready Ron pushes in front of him.

‘Hello there’ a mop of white blond hair appears.
‘Luna’ he practically lets gravity do all the work pulling him back into his seat pure relief it wasn't someone more malicious.
‘Hello Harry,’ she chirps in that airy tone she always has, ‘ive brought some friends i do hope you dont mind’
Nevile and Ginny's heads pop around the door like two meerkats, stacked on top of each other.

Harry can't help but smile as Ron welcomes them,
‘So, what are you lot doing here?’
Nevile and Ginny's smiles fall
‘Ah well you see-’ Neville stutters out clumsily
‘Snapes gone’ Ginny finishes for him blunt as ever.
It shouldn't be a surprise, the man was a bastard in his best moments, he even saw the man flee the scene of the crime.
Harry doesn't know what he was expecting.

Ron groans like the weight of the world on his shoulders and it is, isn’t it.
Harry has put the weight of saving the entire world onto his best friend's shoulders.
He's given his burden of saving the entire world onto them.

‘Of course he ran,’ Hermione sneers, ‘the man's obviously guilty.’
‘Like a an Amarok without its fur’ Luna adds nonsensically
Nevile smiles at her and nods just as confused as the rest of them.

They talk for a while, it's nice until he realizes this may be the last time he sees any of them.
And he's sure by the way Ron hovers around his sister prodding and joking that he's already figured it out.
He can't take Ron from his sister, from his family his chest burns he looks away in a feeble attempt to ease the ache only to make direct eye contact with Hermione.
Hermione who's a star pupil, Hermione whose parents love her so so much, Hermione who's got the brightest future Harry has ever seen.

‘Harry?’ Luna breaks his thoughts, this may be the last time he ever sees her ‘can the quibbler report on your time travel?’
‘I-’ he stutters ‘what’ his voice cracks like he's going through puberty all over again.
Ron and Hermione have gone still.
‘Your time travel. Can the Qubbler write an article on it?’
‘What time travel Luna?’ Hermione interjects, saving his ass like she always does.
‘The time Harry and Ron missed the train they time traveled Hermione, how else would they get to school on time?’ She says like it's the most obvious thing in the world.
‘Oh, of course you can Luna you really don't need to ask’
‘Oh I do. It's important for journalistic integrity’

He listens to the voices around them. He won't hear some of them for a long time if ever and the thought crosses his mind that if he wasn't so selfish he wouldn't hear any of them again.

He tunes in on Neville instead trying not to think on the idea of being without them, he's rambling about the medicinal properties of the pond route dependent on the moon cycle apparently at its strongest on a full moon.
It wouldn't surprise him if there was a magical root that healed nearly anything, but the information may as well be useless after all what are the chances you'll be injured on a full moon by a pond, it's completely nonsensical.

They get to work.
Hermione instructs Harry on how to minimize the backlash.
Apparently the reason that no one else has tried to do this is because of the protection charms cast on the tiny hourglass. Hemione mentions something about them being volatile, he doesn't pay too much attention to it magic has never truly hurt him after all.
The tips of his fingers begin to tingle as he guides the magic away letting the current flow and disperse harmlessly into open air.
Magic as always is gorgeous flowing in a crackling light show like a stream made of fireworks. It drains the colour from the necklace bright gold turning to a dull bronze.
He keeps the magic moving in a continuous stream around him, guiding it pulling the sparks back in.

Ron and Hermione take the tiny hour glass apart as he guides the flow of magic nearly too caught up in the glow of magic to watch their hands work fast and delicate, Ron takes the pieces apart as Hermione sorts them splitting them into the main body and attachments.
They make a perfect team.

Hermione takes a piece, lifting it to the light from Ron's wand. She starts engraving into it using her own wand, adding small details, modifying an existing rune like the brilliant witch she is.
He doesn't know another soul who could do anything like that.
People call her the brightest witch of their generation. Harry sometimes thinks she may be the brightest witch alive.
She sets her wand down looking at them then nods.

He and Ron make quick work of reassembling Ron's fingers, precise and delicate as Harry weaves the magic back into the hourglass watching the colour sink back into its components until it shines again.

They walk away from the school side by side, arm in arm. It's quite none of them talk, taking in their last moments in the present.
The castle gets smaller behind them as they follow the dirt trail trees towering over them.
He wonders if they'll be as tall where they end up traveling to.
When they travel to.

Merlin, Harry's selfish.

They're nearly at the lake by the time he decides this has to end, he can't take their lives from them.
Couldn't bear to.
And perhaps more selfishly he couldn't handle the resent they would hold for him.
He stops, they both turn to him.

Oh..

This may be the last time he ever sees his best friends, his family.
He holds his hand out,
‘I've got it from here, Mione pass me the time turner.’ He smiles at them tilting his head letting long hair fall over his face.
It doesn't feel very convincing, they certainly don't look convinced.
‘What. No Harry,’ Hermione says, ‘we’re coming with you, obviously’
‘Yeah mate we’d never let you go alone’ Ron adds

‘No listen to me,’ Harry pushes ‘if you do this you might never see your families again and even if you do it wont be for a long time, its better that i go alone’
They look at each other and Harry feels horrifically guilty for the pit of dread in his stomach.

‘Nah, mate.’ Ron says calm, certain ‘we’re coming with.’
‘We would follow you anywhere Harry’

He feels so much worse for the relief coursing through his veins.

They stare out at the lake.
It'll still be there in the past. It shouldn't really matter how far they go back and perhaps that's comforting in its own strange insignificant way.
The lake will stay with them.

Harry is not sure how much time passes before Hermione lifts the time turner, wrapping the chain around her own neck before lifting it higher for the two of them to duck under.
The three of them are connected.

‘Ready?’ she asks barely a whisper.
He and Ron look to each other and answer in tandem,
‘Never’

She turns it.
Over and over again, Harry watches the magic around them start to flow, small streams concentrating into each other feeding into the device. He watches as his own magic seeps from his chest, flowing into the small hour glass.
Hermione keeps on turning.
He can no longer see the lake, with all the streams of magic condensing around them, he can't see much of anything really.
It doesn't really matter though, he can see Ron's bewildered expression besides Hermione's determined one, it's all he's ever needed to see.

The hourglass begins to crack, the magic concentrated inside it pushing to its limits, Hermione turns it once more.
Then she lets go.

The world goes white his ears ring and for a moment he feels as if he is floating. Magic erupting around them in the brilliant way it does. It never even crosses his mind to fear it, just lets the raw magic surround him as he clings to his best friend's hands.

It doesn't last.

Harry falls.
They all collapse on top of each other into one big heap.
His hearing comes back to the sound of groaning, his head aches, his arm has somehow ended up sandwiched between someone and the ground, he's got a mouth full of bushy hair and he's nearly certain that's a foot pressing down on his chest.

Oh Merlin, time travel sucks.

He hears an unfamiliar laugh and pushes his face though bushy hair to see a familiar face.

“Bloody hell,’ James Potter laughs at them, ‘what’ve you lot been up to?’

Chapter Text

The air is sharp, the sky turning a dull orange as the sun sets; it's the perfect night for excitement.

Something good is going to happen; James is certian about that walking arm in arm with Sirius as Peter trails behind them. They cut through bushes making there way through the wilderness more to avoid being seen then anything else, though he feels it does add to the ambiance of their noon venture. 

The perfect setting for excitement in his extraordinary humble opinion.

‘Come on Prongs’ Pete wines ‘lets go back before someone notices were missing’

He spins on his heels pulling Sirius along with him  feeling the muscles in his face strain as the boy yelps.

‘Come on Wormtail’ he mimics, ‘I've got a good feeling about tonight’

Peter grumbles ‘You said that yesterday..’

Gleeful cackling fills the air ‘and wasn't it brilliant’

‘Yeah until Filch caught us’ peter replies petulantly to the open air where James was mere moments ago. There's an odd silence before Sirius speaks ‘Wicked..’

He whips his head around to the sound of Sirius’s voice, to find the other two boys staring out at the lake.

There’re sparks going up magic twisting in a brilliant golden array; it's vaguely reminiscent of the angry sparks that fly from the flue network yet these seem almost controlled like a firework display the sparks weaving together into one intricate body.

It's spectacular, James thinks he may be able to stare at this for days. And perhaps that's why he didn't even notice his own hand drawing closer until the magic latches onto him. He freezes unconsciously holding his breath as it slithers up his hand winding itself between his fingers and up his arm.

It’s an odd sensation warm and weirdly familiar yet so separated from everything he knows of magic.

It winds its way into his core, James feels  the brilliant power burn like a gentle fire.

His trance is broken by two sets of hands on his shoulders pulling him back. 

Sirius grabs both his shoulders and shakes 

‘Jamie, James, James Potter’ it takes an embarrassing amount of time for him to remember his conversational skills and respond still reeling from the loss.

‘Pads, calm down man’ his shoulders are still being shaken violently he can hardly even make out the expression on Sirius's face from the constant motion.

‘You twat’ the boy, near, yells as he releases the no wrinkled robes.

He feels more then sees petter patting him on the back.

‘You ok mate?’ he asks softly, a strong contrast from Sirius’s frantic mothering.

There's a loud thump from behind them shortly followed by a series of groans they turn in slow dreading unison to what horrific magical creature managed to get into Hogwarts only to find a pile of teenagers.

There's three of them as far as James can tell, maybe four the mop of light brown hair is certainly more than enough for two.

It's a ridiculous sight with glimpses of  striped pajamas  and at least a sandaled foot resting on top of what James can only assume is a chest. 

They were scared shitless off this he turns to his left to find Sirius already staring at him and promptly bursts into a fit of joint laughter.

‘Bloody hell,’ he manages through the wheeze of laughter, chest settling slightly back into normality ’What’ve you lot been up to?’

Two vibrant green eyes peek out from the bushy brown hair before retreating back with a squeak, Obviously his reputation proceeds him. 

The eyes that he may have mistaken for lily’s if not for the tan skin surrounding them disappear back into the mess of hair and limbs.

They all sit in some unified frozen state, honestly rude could they not hear him talking to them.

Hermione feels horribly underdressed as the icy winds hit her, the thin cotton of her pajamas doing little to shield her from the cold, perhaps they acted too rashly a change of clothes would have been nice.

Ah well it's too late now. 

The buzzing in her ears starts to subside and is quickly replaced by an equal if not more annoying sound.

Idiocy.

‘Hey hey you know its rude to ignore people’

‘Hellooo’

‘You lot look awful did you know that, honestly such a mess’

It drones on and on petulant despite the depth it has but Hermione is honestly still debating if it was just a very unfortunate toddler.

‘Mione,’ she hears Harry's voice soft and shaken barely audible despite being right by her ear.

‘Thats my dad..’

The words would have hung in the open air if not for the monotonous drone of the man child nattering at them.

Ron twitches from below both of them and Hermione jolts up head snapping to the owner of the voice.

She finds a man nearly identical to Harry with tan skin and jet black hair so identical that people would mistake them for twins, he's taken a knee beside them and grins wide at her acknowledgment of him.

‘You are aliv-’

‘Protego Bulla!’ flicks her wand and a bubble forms around the trio Ron follows it with a quiet muffliato miraculously noticing the shell shocked Harry who's still attempting to cover his face with her hair.

They stare at each other for a few seconds before Hermione nods to Ron. His blunt emotionally stunted nature is surprisingly good for Harry.

‘Haz.. mate, you look like shit.’

The boy barks out a short sharp laugh from behind Hermione's hair ‘You can't even see me you prat’

‘My inner eye mate im a divination expert’ Ron says haughty hand on his chest in mock sincerity that seems to cheer Harry if only slightly.

Then when they finally settle, Hermione decides it's the appropriate time to verbalise her thoughts.

‘We really should have planned this out more’

Harry's dad as it turns out is perfectly content to hold a conversation with himself and so he does as the three boys guide them back to the castle under the light of the setting sun.

It is almost as annoying as Sirius Black's attempts at subtlety as his narrowed eyes flick constantly between her trio.

It may say something about her character that the least annoying of the three is the future death eater who has graciously decided that he doesn't care for any of the suspicious newcomers instead making it his job to nod and hum at James with little correlation to what he's actually saying.

She's just glad that no one seems to notice the striking similarities her friends hold to the Weasels and of course James himself, she honestly wasn't sure if the notice me not charm she had modified to target just their faces would even work  after all its near impossible to perceive the effects of the charm if one already knows what they're looking at.

Still she pushes Ron's head down as he looks up to glare at Sirius’s constant gaze; it's better not to push the charm without further tests.

By the time they arrive at the castle only a slither of sunlight remains and she sees a wiry figure standing by the door his foot tapping with clearly exaggerated impatience; tapping his foot and staring at an empty wrist.

‘And what time exactly do you lot think this is?’

It takes Hermione an embarrassingly long time to realise that the man in-front of her is Professor Lupin, he stands tall well groomed , his hair is pushed back and a small golden badge lays on the left breast of his robes.

He stands tall without the creases in his forehead that time gave him. it seems that time or perhaps stress was not kind to Remus Lupin, while he was by no means unpopular as a professor with his strong jaw and sturdy confidence that pales in comparison to the man in-front of her drawing up to his full hight with a boyish grin on his scared face and spark in his eyes.

It’s disconcerting to think that the war had taken that from him.

Professor Lupins eyes flick to the three of them and he waves almost shyly eyes flicking to his apparent friends.

‘Sorry I don't think I know you three I'm Remus, Remus Lupin’ he holds his hand out for them and Hermione takes it.

‘Hermione and these gapping idiots are Ron and Harry’ she looks to each boy respectively as she said there names to find that they are indeed gapping, ‘and I would be quite concerned if you did know us seeing as we don't go to school here.’

Lupins eyebrows shoot up as James laughs,

‘I told you today would be interesting didn't I Moony?’ he hooks an arm over Harrys shoulder.

‘and managing to apperate onto Hogwarts grounds is about as interesting as it gets’

Instantly Lupins shoulders square eyes hardening slightly.

Good at least one of them has some sense.

He looks them over properly now getting more confused by the second they’re a mess, Hermione with unkept bushy hair a pair of tartan pyjama pants and a nirvana tee under a pink cardigan.

Ron back is covered in grass and dirt from being at the bottom of the human pile muggle jeans ripped at the knee in a short sleeve teeshirt despite the weather.

his Weasley sweater swallowing harry covers still in dust and ash from where ever he had been with Dumbledore and trying to shrink away from James touch with little success.

They make an odd picture Hermione’s sure of that if nothing else.

She reaches out grabbing Harrys waist pulling him away from his apparently very obnoxious father.

‘We would like to see the headmaster could you take us to him?’