It's not easy to explain, but . . .

Chapter 7

                                                 Chapter 7: Wicked!!  Really??  Bloody Hell!!

Molly's scream snapped Remus and Sirius out of their stunned immobility and they literally launched themselves, wands out, into the parlor.  As they skidded to a halt they saw that Ron and Harry were standing, wands pointed at the almost carbon copies of themselves, who were lounging, apparently quite unconcerned, on the sofas.  Fred, George and Ginny were focused on a tall sandy haired copy of Draco Malfoy, who was standing with his back against the wall.  Stepping  protectively in front of their target, glaring at the Weasley siblings, was a girl who was being covered by Hermione.  Remus and Sirius looked at each other and shrugged.  Nobody moved for a long minute and then Dan slowly stood and stretched out his hand to Harry.

"Hello, Harry.  I'm Dan Radcliffe.  This is Rupert, that's Emma and Tom and we are Muggles. So, would you mind not pointing your wands at us; we are quite helpless against your magic and harmless as far as you're concerned."

Harry stared for a second and then lowered his wand and shook Dan's hand.  

"What's going on?"  Harry asked, noting that the others continued to keep their wands trained on the intruders.  He smiled inwardly. 'Constant Vigilance'.

"Easiest answer?  You sent us back in time to help defeat Voldemort and save some people from dying . . . hopefully. Well, that's the plan, anyway."

"You used a 'Time Turner'?" Hermione questioned Emma, who showed her the one she was wearing, nodding.  Hermione lowered her wand and turned to look at Harry.  "It's possible, Harry, you know that."

"What's 'Ferretface' doing here, then?" Fred flicked his wand in Tom's direction.

Tom threw back his head and laughed, startling the twins and causing Emma to smack him on the arm, smiling.  Dan walked over and took hold of Ginny's hand, pushing her wand down gently.  "May I introduce Tom Felton: actor, musician, wildlife conservationist, crack fisherman and snappy dresser."  Tom bowed to Ginny, who looked from Dan to Tom and then giggled and pocketed her wand, as did the twins.

"I don't understand."  Molly sat down on the nearest chair.  "If you came back  . . .  if you were sent . . . but you look just like . . . oh dear . . . "

"Mrs. Weasley."  Emma came over and got down on her knees in front of the family matriarch, took both of Molly's hands in hers and began to explain.  "In May of 1997, there will be a horrendous battle at Hogwarts,  nearly destroying the castle.  Harry will defeat Voldemort, but at a terrible price.  So Harry, Ron, Hermione and Draco came to us  and asked if we would help set things on a different path . . . still defeating Voldemort, but saving as many lives as possible in the process."

"But you're Muggles . . . how do you know . . .  you look almost identical . . . ."

"We're actors and we have spent ten years of our lives filming the story of Harry's life at Hogwarts   The stories were taken from a set of books about Harry, so we know what's going to happen and how and when we can help you all change history."

"Wait, what year are we talking about . . .  what year is it when you come back?"  Ron asked, putting his wand away and shaking Rupert's hand.

"Ah, 2012, actually," Rupert replied, grinning.

"Wicked!"  "Really?"  "Bloody hell!"

"Why didn't we come back ourselves?  Hermione and I used a Time Turner to save Sirius, so why not do this ourselves?"  Harry looked at Dan, who scratched his head. 

"Well," Dan started to explain, but turned to Tom.  "What did Draco say about that Tom?"

"Long story short; all of the Time Turners were smashed and we'll tell you about that, too, but are being repaired.  However, there's a little problem; they are only safe for Wizards and Witches to use for a twenty-four hour trip.  Any more time than that is actually fatal; they're working on fixing that bit but it turns out Muggles can use Time Turners without any ill effects . . . the fact that Muggles don't know they exist makes it a moot point, but there it is."  Tom shrugged.  "Draco didn't get too detailed on how they figured it out, but we were the next best thing; we're you, but not, so the "must not be seen" rule doesn't apply, sort of; it's not easy to explain, but . . ."