The Doctor joined Alfie, Lily, and Hugo on the Hogwarts Express as they return back to the school for the winter term. The Doctor is still fascinated by the moving photos in wizarding newspapers and reads them just to watch. Alfie leans against the window and watches the passing country side. The landscape is white and is just getting whiter and brighter. He rubs his eyes.
"So, your great, great, great grandfather was orphaned when his wizard mother was killed and his father was arrested." Hugo summed up between bites of chocolate cauldron cake. "And he was a squib who had his memories changed."
"Yeah, they had to obliviate a lot of muggles that day." Alfie was quietly. "And rebuild part of the Crystal Palace."
"I wonder what would have happened if his parents were successful." Lily said. "Your life would be really different!"
"That was never a possibility." The Doctor spoke up for the first time.
"What do you, mean, Doctor?" asked Lily.
"The Grandfather paradox." The Doctor folded his newspaper and placed it on his lap. "It's like, if you go back in time to kill your grandfather, you won't ever have been born to go back in time to kill your grandfather. Damn near impossible!"
"I didn't try to kill my grandfather!"
"That's not what he means, Alfie." said Hugo. "Your great, great, great grandfather's fate is a fixed point in time. There was nothing that you could have done to change it. Even if you had helped and succeeded in stealing the diamond. Something else would have intervened."
"So, you're a Black!" said Lily.
"Yeah, but they're really into blood purity. The fact that I am 5 generations removed from the magic line of the family isn't going to impress anyone. I'm still a mudblood. But it's ok." Alfie smiled for the first time since leaving 1851. "I know who I am. And that's all that's important."
The Hogwarts grounds were thick with a blanket of snow. Alfie had taken advantage of his accute sense of Quidditch movement to co-announce Hogwart's Quidditch matches. At one particularly snowy day, Gryffindor played Slytherin in a game that was running close and running long. The only way for one team or the other to win was for their seeker to find the snitch, and that was nearly impossible with blinding snow whipping through the air.
Alfie remarked at how the Slytherin beaters use the Dopplebeater Defense with deadly accuracy. "Yes," said his co-announcer, fourth year by the name of Bruce Stebbins. "But it doesn't mean a thing if Walter Nott doesn't get focused and find that snitch!"
"Oh!" The crowd gasped collectively as chaser Deak Bletchley takes a bludger to the back of his broomstick and spins out of control. He loses possession of the quaffle to Gryffindor's chaser.
"Shanon Sloper is moving really fast, Bruce." said Alfie. "Slytherin's keeper, heads up!"
Sloper fakes to the middle goal post then quickly banks to her left and tossed the quaffle to the keeper's right and into the goal post. The Gryffindor stands go wild. This ties the game 190 to 190.
Alfie had charmed his mug to make his hot chocolate exactly how his mum makes it, with just the right amount of cinnamon and whipped cream, and perfect temperature. In exchange for his perfect food regenerating charm, Bruce charmed their mugs to repeal the driving snow and wind.
Alfie saw the Slytherin seeker turn sharply and dive toward the earth. Soon after, the Gryffindor seeker follows. "It looks like Gryffindor's Samantha Dunbar sees something flying low in the snow!"
"Yeah! Maybe we can get this game over with and get back inside!" said Bruce.
"There is definitely a warm fire and a wool blanket with my name on it!"
"I hear you wear fuzzy bunny slippers, too!"
"What goes on between me and my two feet is none of your..."
Alfie's retort was interrupted by the roars of the crowd. The Slytherin seeker pulled up from his dive, holding tight to his broom in one hand and the golden snitch, gleaming, in the other.
It was almost midnight by the time the Quidditch field had finally emptied of all of the students, staff family and friends who came to watch. Ironically, the blizzard had calmed to a light snow. The grounds were covered in a soft blanket of snow. The night air was silent and all was still. But just for a moment.
In the Gryffindor common room, there was much celebration. They did not win but it was a good game and these were times when rivalry between houses were not walking a thin line of life and death because of an association with a dark wizard trying to take over the world.
Alfie was enjoying the warmth of the Gryffindor hearth and a large serving of treacle tart when he notices that Lily and several others are missing. He asks Hugo and Mahavir if they have seen her. They have not but just assume that she has gone to bed. But Alfie is sure that he hadn't seen her since the game. After waiting patiently while a third year checks Lily's dorm room, he decides to look for her back on the grounds. He drags along Hugo and Mahavir practically kicking and screaming.
"But I'm just getting the feeling back in my toes!" lamented Mahavir.
"It will be quick." said Alfie to his friends, as they bundled up. "Hopefully." He said that last part under his breath and hoped they didn't hear him.
Many people were still wondering in and out of the castle. Guests left over from the Quidditch match, treated to a hot meal and a warm fire before returning to their homes. It was not difficult for Alfie and his friends to sneak out of the castle to find Lily.
Alfie, Hugo and Mahavir made their way back to the Quidditch grounds. The stadium was oddly, still lit up. "Look up there!" Majavir pointed up just above the stands. Flying lower than a normal Quidditch match were two groups of young witches and wizards. As the three got closer, they could see that, although they weren't perfectly skilled flyers, they seemed confident. The brooms were obviously school brooms, as they seemed difficult to control. The three climbed the stairs to the stands and watched unseen by the players. They watched as first and second years from each house playing Quidditch in mismatched teams with old tattered balls that didn't hit so hard, on brooms that didn't fly straight, in snow that had forgiven them their trespasses.
Alfie was astonished to find his young classmates outside of the castle so late. And playing Quidditch, no less. After a half an hour more of friendly play, the students land their brooms and walk back to the castle.
"That was brilliant!" Alfie catches up with Lily and scares her nearly out of her robes.
"Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"
"Why didn't you tell me? Is this what's been keeping you busy all term?"
"I didn't think you liked flying."
"Well, I don't" Alfie felt dejected. "But I still would've liked to have known."
"What are you doing here?" The familiar voice startled him. Morgan had separated from another group and made her way to the four friends.
"Hello, Morgana." said Alfie. He wasn't sure how he felt about seeing her here. Her comments about his non-magical heritage didn't mean anything to him anymore.
"I hear you and The Doctor "traveled to the past" to find out if you are in fact a real wizard." Lily elbowed her hard in the arm. "Ow!" Morgana laughed. "Ok. Maybe I deserved that. But look, I have something to show you. I'll show you at breakfast tomorrow.
"See you then, Morgana." Alfie, Hugo and Majavir trudged back up to the castle, desperate to get into their warm beds, leaving a giggling Lily and Morgana, and the others trailing their broomstick in the snow.
The next morning, as Alfie was enjoying his sausage and baked beans, Morgana abruptly sat down next to him. It was odd seeing a Slytherin at the Gryffindor table. She was hiding a biscuit between her teeth, and an old newspaper in her hands. She handed it to Alfie.
"What is this?" He asked her as he opened it to see a photo of a very familiar place, on fire. "Is this...is this the Crystal Palace?"
"Yes it is, Alfie."
Alfie folded the paper back up and put it away. He did not want to look at it because it made him think of the little boy in the orphanage without a mother or father and no memory of them.
"Witches and wizards don't time travel. Not more than a couple of hours." Alfie was not sure where Morgana was going with this and became uncomfortable. "But, your friend, our professor the Time Lord, has helped you...bypass this, problem." She saw Alfie open his mouth to say something. "Don't give me that look. I know he's a 'Time Lord.' My parents are dealer in magical artifacts. They know about many things in both the natural and supernatural world.
Morgana let this sink into Alfie's head. She spread strawberry jam other biscuit and took a bite.
"What does this have to do with me, Morgana?"
Morgana took another bite, enjoying the bite, while Alfie squirmed with impatience. She was making a gallant effort to not condescend, but she was who she was. She enjoyed holding Alfie's attention this way.
"I'm getting there." She flicked her eyebrows up at him. "When there is a shift, a change caused by a time traveler, muggles do not notice. Their memories, their lives, it is all adjusted to match the new scenario." She took another bite and continued before swallowing. "This is why they mistakenly believe that once something is set, it's set in stone. It's all theory for them. But some of us in the magical world, we can see it when presented with it."
She pointed at the newspaper folded neatly next to Alfie's plate. "We received this newspaper over the Christmas holidays. We get stuff like this all of the time at the shop. Anomalies that other wizards have picked up on." She reopened the paper to show him the photo. "This man, just right here." She pointed to an elderly man who was the only one of four who had turned his face to the camera. The wizarding photograph showed him turn every few seconds or so to point to the burning building.
Alfie looked closely at the man in the photo. There was a wild look in the man's face. He was dressed well but disheveled. The fire didn't seem to bother him. He almost looked excited. Alfie could just make out his face in the old fading photograph. His face started to burn a bit when he realized who it was making it harder to recognize the man. But he was certain.
"He has not always been in there, Alfie. The people who owned that newspaper clipping, they remember, he has not always been in that photo." Alfie wipes his eyes on the sleeve of his robes. "Who is it Alfie? Who is the man in this photo, Alfie?" Morgana's voice was rising with excitement. Not with anger, mind you. But she knew that Alfie knew something about the strange man in the photo and her curiosity was intense. They attracted the attention of some of the other Gryffindor's at the table. "Who is this man, Alfie?"
"He's Eduardus Black! He, he burned that cursed building down. He burned it down."
"Why did he do that Alfie?" She was quiet now. She had drawn a lot of attention and she didn't mean to make Alfie upset. "A Black?"
"He lost his wife and child there 85 years before that. They sent him to Azkaban for nearly destroying the place. His wife died and they sent his child to an orphanage." Alfie broke down at these last words. "That little boy. He was such a nice kid." Alfie shook his head. "He was my great, great, great grandfather. Heh, I guess Eduardus, he got out and returned to get some kind of revenge?"
"Alfie, so, you're a Black?" Alfie didn't expect any sympathy from Morgana. He didn't expect anything from her beyond being impressed by his heritage. "Hmm. A disowned Black, but a Black none the less. Interesting." She finished up her biscuit. "I'm sorry about your great, great, great grandfather." She took the newspaper from him and folded it back up into her robes.
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Dear Reader,
The decision to have Slytherin win was arbitrary. In this story the winner of Quidditch matches wasn't important. So I wrote Gryffindor on one tiny piece of paper and balled it up and did the same with Slytherin. I then had three different people choose one. Each time Slytherin was chosen. So Slytherin won. I hope you enjoyed. Please comment , vote, and add to reading list. We're in the home stretch!
Yours truly,
Brittany_storm