Erase the Future (Collab with BookwormCM18)

Chapter Six

This chapter was written by BookwormCM18. J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter. I'm me, not her.

"What is going on!"

"What, you think I just magically know everything?"

James and Lily were in the same secluded hallway, except now, it was actually secluded. Lily had cast a charm, which she explained muffled any sound that came from them. She didn't tell James, however, about who she learned the charm from. Lily doesn't think he'll realize that the charm isn't part of the 4th-year curriculum. James only excels at Transfiguration and botches up every other subject.

They were discussing (arguing) about the weird situations that they had both ended up with. James thinks something is going on, and Lily just thinks it's a coincidence.

"Don't be stupid, Lily! Someone set us up in that 'Protect the Banner' game, and McGonagall seemed weird when she gave us that detention and she also told us about this "student" who was doing an "experiment" on us with the permission of Dumbledore! Don't you think it's weird that all these things happened to us, of all the students at Hogwarts!"

Yes, they had progressed to using each others' first names, but that didn't stop them from having a heated argument, though more professional and controlled than their past disagreements.

"I agree that it is weird, but why would Dumbledore pick us? It's just a random coincidence. As for the game, you won't consider your best friend Black trying to get us in trouble? And the detention was fair. Professor McGonagall was right when she said she couldn't be a biased teacher, unlike some teachers."

Her eyes unfocused and James knew she was thinking about the Slughorn Incident, as he called it. He couldn't help thinking about it, either, for he had never seen a teacher that cruel. What did he ever do to the man?

Shaking his head, James said, "Still, don't you think something is going on? You are on friendly terms with some of the teachers, is there any chance you can find something out?"

Lily turned a little red at the mention of her relationship with her professors; she just loved learning so much! Then she sighed. James was right, as much as she hated to admit it.

Something fishy was happening, and if anyone had a sliver of a chance, it would be the one who got perfect grades all the time, the one who would never be suspected of anything. It would be her.

"Fine. I'll do what I can."

===

Rhea had not done anything since April had come to a close, her final idea of the year. She had decided that operating from the shadows was not a good idea. So she enrolled at Hogwarts for the Marauders' fifth year.

Everything on Dumbledore's stupid list had been fulfilled, and if you don't remember (Rhea can't blame you) here it is:

Endure the pain of a backward age potion (which takes precisely two months to make).

Actually study for school.

Get "situated" in a home.

The backward age potion had been completed months ago, as it was now the beginning of August. It was stored in a small flask, which she shrunk and stored in an inside pocket of her robes.

Studying wasn't a problem when it came to it, but Rhea didn't want to. She had already suffered through seven years of torturous school, under her father's overly watchful eye, and her mother's insistence to be attractive and get married.

It would bring back too many memories. She tried to reassure herself that she had to do it, to make sure those memories never happened, but it would still be hard.

Rhea wasn't a generous person by nature, but going back in time where the Dark Lord hadn't taken over yet changes a person. The happiness in which everyone lived was overwhelming, and it made her wonder that if everyone accepted each other, would there finally be peace?

"Are you ready?" Dumbledore asked politely, but unnecessary. If she waited until she was ready, she'd be waiting her entire life, and then what would this whole thing be for?

"I've been ready for months," Rhea replied with force.

She took the vial of potion and drank it without a second thought, with fear that if she did, she might not be ready. Immediately, a sensation rippled through her body. It was not a good one.

Pain seared everywhere and Rhea lost control of her senses. Then came the squeezing. Every bone in her body felt tight; they were shrinking. Her face felt the same, as her skin tightened around her body.

In an aging potion, you grow. Your bones would get bigger and your skin would stretch. Stretching skin would feel weird, but not unnatural, as it happened normally. If the skin tightened, as it was in Rhea's case, it was incredibly painful.

The third step of the process was dizziness. It varied on how young you were turning, which was many years for Rhea. You grow slowly. Rhea was un-growing very fast. Her balance was not to be counted upon, and her head spun as the ground grew closer. Not that she could see the ground, as she was temporarily blinded by the pain.

Then it stopped.

Dumbledore handed Rhea a mirror as her eyes refocused and she stood up on her shaking legs. She was trembling, and she hated to show this weakness, as she was taught (self-taught) to push it away.

In the mirror, she saw a face she had not seen in years. Back to a time when her eyes, instead of being filled with the wariness she carried with her, shone brightly through her wide she was she was bubbly and talkative instead of intelligent and unsocial. When her hair was so...stringy.

But it was done.

===

"Students, I would like to introduce a new student to our school, Rhea Esmeray!"

Rhea walked up to the teacher's table, where Dumbledore stood, giving his annual speech at the beginning of the year. Her head was held high and her shoulders were straight. Ignoring the stares and murmurs, she takes her place next to Dumbledore.

McGonagall called her over to the wooden stool where the Sorting Hat lays. In the future, Rhea was a Slytherin, as was everyone else. No other Houses existed; it was one of the Dark Lord's first rules. Rhea was curious as to what she would end up in now when there was actually a choice.

She sat down promptly on the stool and put the hat on her head. It ended just below her eyes.

In her time, the Sorting Hat had been destroyed in the Cruento War; it had been burned on the head of Neville Longbottom's friend, Lovegood, which had killed her as well. But she had seen the sorting of the first years just now, and she knew how it worked, that it talked.

What she didn't know, however, was that the Sorting Hat talked privately and could see your thoughts and memories.

Oh, a time traveler. Let's see what we have here. I die? That's too bad. Hmmm...yes...I see.

...

I think you'll appreciate it if I don't call out what I have seen. Well, the perfect House for you is...Ravenclaw!

Rhea was shocked. Not because she didn't think this House was good; she's not really qualified to judge that, but because she had never experienced an actual Sorting. Her heart swelled and she felt so powerful, just with the knowledge that she actually belonged in a House.

Rhea had been silent for all of her Sorting, but she felt like screaming out loud. When she finally went to bed in her room in the teacher's quarters, skipping the feast, she had a strange thought, that everything might actually work out.