Work Text:
"Padma, Professor McGonagall would like to see you," a voice from behind Padma said.
She turned around and saw it was Cho. "Now? It's so late. I don't know what's happening outside, but I'm ready for bed."
"Just go, it's urgent. She's in her office."
Padma looked down at her sleeping robe. "Like this? I should change."
Cho's eyebrow twitched as it usually did when she was very annoyed. "Go, Padma."
Padma walked out of the Ravenclaw tower, feeling self-conscious in her pink sleeping robes, and hurried to McGonagall's office, wondering what the deputy headmistress could want with her. Padma wasn't a Gryffindor or a troublemaker, and there was something seriously wrong in the castle. The people in the paintings were missing, a whole wall had been turned to rubble, and McGonagall's door had claw marks.
She knocked on McGonagall's door and waited for an "enter" before coming in. McGonagall was behind her desk, as usual, but her robes were torn and her hair was out of its usual neat bun.
"Sit down, please," McGonagall said. Padma noticed the outlined stress and worry lines on her face and sat down without a word. McGonagall looked exhausted.
McGonagall stood up and walked around her desk, giving Padma a too-soft look in the process. "Sixteen years ago, a girl appeared out of nowhere in my office. Her name was Padma, she told me, and she told us that our current Order headquarters would be attacked in two weeks, and we needed to move out."
Somehow, the news that she herself was a time traveler wasn't as thrilling as reading the Bertha Mugwurt, Time Traveler Extraordinaire series or some of the more humorous Merlin biographies.
"But... I'm a Ravenclaw! Ravenclaws aren't supposed to be adventurous!" She paused, collecting her thoughts. "When did I leave? Can I go with someone?" Why me? she wanted to ask.
McGonagall took an odd device from a chest in the corner of the room. It was a strange green orb with a small dial. "Now. I'm sorry, Padma, but as far as I know, no one came with you. And I saw you arrive. Don't worry, you'll be there for less than a day." She fingered the device for a moment. "This is a time turner Filius and I have been working on in our free time. It's not ready yet... It wasn't supposed to be used for a long while. Albus has a better one, but I can't-" She looked up, and Padma caught a wild look in her eyes for just a moment before McGonagall collected herself.
McGonagall handed her the time turner and a piece of paper. "Turn the dial to the left twenty-seven times, then shake it until you start moving. Close your eyes after that. The time vortex isn't pretty when you go through years. Tell my younger self about the headquarters and hand her this message. Whatever you do, don't cause a time paradox. One that lasts for sixteen years could mean every magical being in Britain might be sucked of magic to set time right. To get back, do the same, except turn it to the left."
"Yes, m'am. But why-"
"You need to go." McGonagall turned to leave, and Padma found herself feeling inexplicably put out. Of course the deputy headmistress had other duties, but... "I'm sorry, Miss Patil," McGonagall said.
Padma turned towards the door, but McGonagall had already left. Sorry for what? she wondered.
She did as McGonagall instructed and soon fell through something that told her she had no business being near it, but guided her anyways, and the next time she opened her eyes, she was in a familiar office.
"Fenwick, I don't have time for this. You're being paranoid. There is nothing-" She stopped, seeing Padma standing in the corner. "How did you get in?"
"Hello, professor. Um. Sir." She nodded at the unknown man. "I'm a time traveler and I'm supposed to tell you that you need to switch headquarters. Like, now."
McGonagall looked her over. Padma blushed, feeling out of place in her sleeping robes. Sure, they were very conservative, but she felt uncomfortable all the same.
"What's the oath to join the Order?" the stranger asked.
"I don't know. I'm not really sure what the Order is, actually. I'm not a member." She knew how it sounded, and it wasn't good. "Here!" She thrust McGonagall's note to her. "You gave me this. Before sending me here, I mean."
McGonagall read the paper over and rubbed her temples. "Did you read this?"
"No, m'am."
McGonagall sighed, and Padma had the feeling it was a sigh of relief. "Alright. My name is Minerva McGonagall. This is Benjamin-"
"Benjy," the man interrupted. "Do call me Benjy."
"Fenwick," McGonagall finished.
"I'm Padma P-"
"Don't tell me your last name, please. I'd rather not know any more than I should. Fenwick, you've got another crusader for your cause. Go get her dressed. We'll meet tonight at our current headquarters."
The man, Benjy, rolled his eyes and opened the door. "Minerva, this is just more proof. We need to move!"
McGonagall shook her head. "Out with you. Alastor could get some pointers from you in paranoia." She nodded to Padma. "Whatever you're here to do, please do it without causing a paradox."
Padma followed him out the door. They walked in an uncomfortable silence for a while.
"Where are the students?" Padma asked.
"Hmm? Students? It's August."
"Oh. What year is it?"
"1981."
"Oh." She noticed Benjy's hand hadn't left his wand holster.
"Would you like my wand? I mean, to prove I'm not a..." Had Death Eaters been called Death Eaters in this time? She didn't know. Why hadn't Binns been banished and a more reliable history teacher been brought in? Her parents lived in Austria for the most part and hadn't been involved in the war, nor known the intimate details. She knew how You-Know-Who died (everyone did, really), but she had been more interested in stories of Merlin and Morgana that the facts of the last war.
"No, it's fine." Benjy didn't look more at ease, but his hand did leave his holster. She wondered if it was because of her offer or because he knew she'd noticed. "So, how'd you get into the time travelling business?" Benjy asked.
Padma smiled. "I've always pretended to be Bertha Mugworth, travelling to sixth century Japan, and decided to do it for real one time."
Benjy grinned. "I think I might like you, Miss Padma. Or, pardon me, Mrs.?"
"Just Padma, thanks. I'm nowhere near married."
Benjy coughed and stuck his hands in his robe pockets, looking away. "Right, Padma. Let's get you cleaned up. I have a younger sister, Margaret, who's the new Quiddich instructor. I'm sure she'll have something for you."
x
The old Order headquarters were in Hogsmeade, Padma learned, at a sweets shop one of the members owned. The back room was just large enough for twenty people to crowd around Padma, who stood in the center of the room along with Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Benjy. Mildly put, the other members protested against having her there.
"She could be a spy!"
"She wasn't even part of the Order!"
"Where would we even move to?"
"Quiet, all," a both familiar and unfamiliar voice ordered. She had heard Professor Dumbledore giving the welcoming speech every year, of course, but never had he taken such a sharp, commanding tone. For the first time, she realized her Headmaster was more than a former transfigurations teacher. It hadn't quite connected before now, but this was the man who had led the fight against You-Know-Who in the first war.
However, he looked the same as ever with a long beard and bright blue robes with embroidered yellow birds. "Miss Padma, what exactly is your message?"
"You need to change headquarters. You-Know-Who is supposed to attack in one week," she said, looking only at him.
"And why were you in particular sent?"
"Professor McGonagall remembered meeting me here. And, I don't really know much about the war, and I don't know almost anyone here, so I'm unlikely to spill anything accidentally."
"The note she gave me was written in my handwriting and was something only I would know," McGonagall offered.
"Pardon me, Minerva, but are you positive it's from you?" Dumbledore asked.
McGonagall showed him the note, angled so that Padma couldn't see, but Padma noticed a sparkle enter Dumbledore's eyes and the seriousness fade.
"My dear Minerva, is that why-"
"Albus, I'm warning you..."
Someone coughed. "Excuse me. Can we continue to the meeting, now?"
Dumbledore nodded. "Yes, yes. Benjy, if you could escort Miss Padma to our wonderful garden? The cherry trees are bountiful this time of year."
A woman snorted. "If she'd really from the future, she can sit in without a problem."
"I think I'll go," Padma said. "I like cherries." She didn't need to hear this. She didn't want to have to worry about events long past, and worry more about the future.
Benjy opened the door for her and she exited, stopping for a moment to let him lead, then following Benjy out a door to the back of the house.
The garden was somewhat pretty, she thought, looking around. It wasn't well-kept or large, only consisting of two rows of three trees each, and a small two-person bench. She sat down, picking a cherry from a low-hanging limb.
Benjy sat next to her. "So, what's the future like? Don't tell me anything specific. Just..."
"Moustaches have fallen out of style," she said, pointedly staring at Benjy's moustache. She rubbed the cherry over her new robes and popped it in her mouth.
He laughed and ran a finger over the hairs. "But it's a sign of manliness!"
"No. It's awful. I mean... I'm sorry. I'm being insulting."
"It's fine. Besides, you're from what, a few years in the future?"
Padma started to say something, she wasn't sure what, but Benjy raised a finger in front of her lips.
"No, don't tell me. Look, we'll make it a lunch date, and I'll shave my 'stache especially for the occasion."
"But why? I mean, I'm not..."
"Not?"
"I'm not very interesting. Or very attractive. If it's the time travelling thing, then you should know it's really just this one time. I think this is the most exciting day of my life, to be honest. The last one was going to a ball with the Boy-Who-Lived's best friend, and that turned out to be a horror."
"I think I'm pretty normal, too. It's not like I fight dragons for a living."
"But you're in the Order! Fighting You-Know-Who, doing... heroic stuff." She blushed, mentally ordering herself to find out what the Order really did before she next saw Benjy.
"I'm an okay dueler, but that's about it. I promise, I'm not a superhero. But if you're interested..." He took her hands in his and stared in her eyes, and Padma felt adored and incredibly attractive in that moment. And she was attractive, she told herself, no matter how Ron acted or what Justin said. She was attractive. No one just seemed to notice. Sometimes, she herself didn't.
But sitting in the soft evening light on a white bench with this guy, she felt beautiful. With this man, she corrected herself. A good man, a not too ugly or too attractive man. Age is just a number, she decided, thinking about her future. If he was in the Order now, he'd be there in the future. She just had to find him.
Suddenly, her time turner started burning and Padma jumped up and gasped, pulling her robes away from her skin.
"I need to go, I think."
Benjy nodded and held out his hand. "I'll see you at one o'clock, for lunch."
Padma smiled and shook his hand. "It's a date. Make sure they move the headquarters, okay? And tell your sister I'm sorry for stealing her robes."
She noticed the time turner had started cool and started twisting the dial, only half hearing Benjy agree.
She felt the falling feeling, half apparition half portkey, and closed her eyes, thinking of Benjy. They would go to the Three Broomsticks, she decided, so that she could replace her memories of her date with Justin with newer, nicer ones.
When she opened her eyes, she realized she was in a small jewelry shop instead of a garden.
"Would you like something, dear?" the woman behind the counter asked.
She turned and ran out without answering, needing to get to the castle. She ran through Hogsmeade and to Hogwarts faster than she'd thought was possible for a bookworm who had little exercise.
"Excuse me!" she called to the first person she saw, Ginny Weasley. "Where can I find Professor McGonagall?"
"Padma? Why are you outside? Never mind, I think she went up to Dumbledore's office. Well, her office, now, I guess."
"What?"
"Professor Dumbledore died. Didn't you hear? Padma? Hey, Padma!"
Padma was already rushing to the school, past a crowd of people, through the front doors, through the corridors, up to the Headmaster's office. She ran faster and faster, because a horrible thought had entered her mind and wouldn't let go. She needed McGonagall to tell her Benjy wasn't-
The gargoyles leapt aside and she speedwalked up the steps, chest heaving and unable to run any longer.
She needed to know he wasn't-
I'm sorry, McGonagall had said.
"Professor McGonagall! I'm back. They switched headquarters. It's all okay."
McGonagall turned around, that too-soft expression in her eyes again, and suddenly, Padma knew, even if she didn't want to and-
"He was alive five minutes ago, Professor. He was-"
"I'm sorry, Miss Patil."
Padma slumped down in one of the chairs. She gulped down her tears and looked down, unable to look at McGonagall. "How? I want to know."
McGonagall handed her a cup of tea and a rolled up parchment. "He's about seven inches down."
Hands shaking, Padma opened the parchment.
Fenwick, Benjamin. Dead Aug. 28th, 1981. Died failed DE ambush at the former HQ. They knew we were waiting for them. Found head and right arm in Pollinwart's Field, near Godric's Hollow. Buried in Godric's Graveyard. Signed Alastor Moody.
He would have preferred Benjy, she thought to herself. Padma gave back the papers and drank the rest of the tea. She and McGonagall didn't speak. There was nothing to say.
She wasn't ever time traveling again.
The calming potion in her tea soon took effect and she felt a little more ready to face the outside world. Padma walked out of the Headmistress' office with her head high, if a little unsteadily.
First, she'd visit Benjy's grave. She had her apparition license, after all, and no one would notice her missing in the chaos.
Then, she'd stop crying, because it was unbecoming, and if one person could find her attractive, then another definitely could. There were more men in the world. She'd just have to find the right man, that's all.
A man like Benjy.