Chapter Text
Coella Kaufmann was nearing the end, she could feel it. Everything that could have failed, did- Sebastian was gone, turned in by Ominis for using the killing curse, and soon after, Anne perished too, succumbing to her curse. Natsai had challenged Harlow alone and hadn’t been seen or heard from since. Her mother confirmed her death with a vision, though it’s unknown if it was real or a dream to soothe her hopes, as Professor Onai has resigned, directly after.
Poppy perished in the fight against poachers for the Snidgets, the last thing she saw was the poachers reaching out for the small nest of unguarded eggs. And Coella’s back, as she ran away.
She’d run away from it all. She’d wasted her time, trying desperately to keep each of her eggs in her basket, each of her friends safe. And she failed.
She just wasn’t strong enough.
And as Ranrok bore down on her in his ancient magic form as a terrifying dragon, Coella knew that at the very least, this was the last failure she’d have to live with.
The wand that had been knocked from her hand rattled and shook, she could hear it. Her eyes were squeezed closed, bracing herself for the final wave of pain that was to come, as Ranrok finally finished her off for good, leaving Hogwarts and the rest of the ancient magic completely defenseless…
Suddenly, her eyes snapped open, looking over at her rattling, jumping wand just as it flashed with a blinding light, engulfing her world in its brilliant white glow. She felt herself falling away, the dizzying sensation of a freefall, before she’d felt like she hit the ground-
She jumped to her feet, shock running through her body as if a bucket of ice cold water had just been poured over her head, prickling sparkles of light slowly fading from her vision, revealing not the cave of the final battle between herself and Ranrok, but rather her London home’s living room. Was this heaven? Had she died?
“Coella-! Coella!” Her papa’s booming voice snapped her out of the rest of her haze, making her realize this wasn’t a cruel joke, nor the afterlife, she was home . Standing in her living room, a piece of parchment clutched in her hand. It was a letter, the letter from Hogwarts. “What’s- are you hurt? Did you get a paper cut?”
Coella shook her head, looking down at her hands. They were as soft and uncalloused as they were before she started her magical journey. That couldn’t be possible. This couldn’t be possible. Was all of that a dream? A vision ? No, it couldn’t be. It felt so real, too real, the memories too fresh.
“H… Huh? What- what time- what, what’s the date?” Coella asked, frightfully, as she looked up at her dad–terrified that this was a dream, and his face would be grotesque, mocking her for daring to dream.
But no, it was her papa. And he was worried.
“It’s August 30th- ah , are you worried about not having enough time to pack? If we get started now, we- oof -“
The young girl couldn’t stop herself, she threw herself into his chest, wrapping her arms around him. She hadn’t gotten to see him since she’d left, and if… if it really were August 30th, that meant… somehow, she’d gone back. Or she really had experienced some kind of incredibly vivid prophetic vision- in any case, she felt like she’d been away from home for a very long time, and she missed her dad.
“Are you sure you’re feeling alright, bunny? We don’t have to start now, if- are you crying? What’s wrong ? You can tell me, are you worried about leaving?” Her father fretted- he was often fretting over her.
“No- I mean, y-yes, yes I’m worried,” Coella replied, nodding with her face buried in his chest as tears flowed unbidden from her eyes. She couldn’t help it- she missed him, she missed this. She didn’t know what it was that she’d just experienced, but it left her with a deep sense of homesickness that she couldn’t shake, despite standing in her home. “I- I’m just… shocked, I didn’t know…” she was doing a shoddy job covering up the truth of the matter and part of her wasn’t sure why. If her father already knew about magic, maybe he’d be able to help explain what just happened? But she couldn’t bring herself to recount it all, all of her failures. “I- I’d like to go lay down for a spell, um, just… I’ll be up to pack, I just…” she sniffed and shook her head, pulling away from the comforting hug to turn and shuffle towards her room.
More than anything, she needed a moment alone to process. To figure out what exactly was happening.
Coella made it back to her room, and didn’t bother lighting her lamp, just sitting down at the edge of her bed.
She had two possibilities: she really had just gone through all of that and now by some miracle she’s been given a chance to go back and redo it all; or she’d just had a very vivid and lifelike vision.
And she had absolutely no idea how to figure out which it was.
Thinking about it–if it were just a really long vision, then that meant that she hadn’t really learned all of the magic that she remembered learning, and if by some miracle she’d gone back in time, then she had learned all of those spells. That, at least, was something she could test.
To some extent. She didn’t have her wand anymore, or yet, but she remembered a short session of trying to practice magic without a wand, with Natty. It hadn’t come so easily to her in that moment before (or in the vision?) but it was the only option she had in that very moment.
She stood, finally flicking her lamp on, and held out her hand, towards a vase on her shelf. “ Depulso ,” she cast, waving her fingers in the same motion she’d have made with a wand. While less focused, it still worked- knocking over the vase, as well as some poor books that were beside it.
“ Reparo. Wingardium leviosa .”
She fixed the vase, and lifted it and the books to put back on the shelf. It was unstable, her hold over the magic was novice at best, but she was casting without her wand, and it felt… right. It felt like it was indeed the same spells she’d been honing for months.
For months…
Merlin, she really had been sent back in time.
August 30th.
That meant tomorrow, Professor Fig would be arriving to collect her, to lend her a practice wand and teach her basic spellcasting again. And it meant the day after, she, him, and poor George Osric were going to be traveling to Hogwarts in that ill-fated carriage ride…
Unless…
Unless she didn’t go. Wasn’t that an option, now? Her father was a wizard but kept her far removed from that world, so he would understand if she decided that she didn’t want to go, that she wanted to remain normal. She didn’t know his reasoning for having done so in the first place, but…
But could she even bring herself to do so? To abandon her destiny, to abandon the people she’d come to know and love? What would happen to them? Would they still perish anyway, or… or would they be better off? Just how much of their demise was because of her?
Coella found herself pacing her floor, chewing on her lip in thought. The only problem was, no matter what, Ranrok would find his way to the repository beneath Hogwarts. If not from him forcing Lodgok to give him the final journal, then he’d likely find it anyway, and if she decided not to go, and to remain in the muggle world, she would have no way of knowing the outcome of any of those events.
Not only about Ranrok–something she’d be a little more likely to learn about, she’d assumed that if Hogwarts really fell and the Goblins took over their magic, her father would hear about it, and she’d learn of it–but her friends. What would become of them? Even if Ranrok managed to be stopped, what of her friends’ fates that weren’t tied to her quest to safeguard the ancient magic? Poppy would still be on the hunt for endangered beasts, in the way of poachers. Anne would still be cursed, and Sebastian would still be willing to do anything to change that. Victor Rookwood and Harlow were still a pair of nasty crooks, and Natsai would never lose her sense of justice. Coella would have no way of knowing what happened to them, 4 random fifth years from Hogwarts in the wake of a violent revolution.
The guilt, the anxiety of not knowing sounded worse than the stress of going through it all again. Especially with the knowledge she had, now. Knowledge, and time. It wasn’t much time- barely four months, but she had more leeway. She doesn’t have to spend all of that time learning and mastering the spells and skills that she needed, she’d be able to get to people sooner, before their lives fell to ruin. Not just her friends, but everyone who she’d known in that time. The before-time. She would save everyone, absolutely everyone that she could. She didn’t know if she’d get a chance like this again.
Perhaps, starting with poor George Osric.
Stopping her pacing, she turned to the door. She’d come to a decision, and for now, she’d strongly hold firm to it. She was going to save everyone.
“Papa, I’m ready to start packing now,” she called, turning back to her room with a resolute nod.
~~~
“My word, you’re a very fast learner. I know it feels a little odd- er, not quite right at the moment, but soon enough you’ll have your own wand to work with, and the magic will come much easier. In any case, I believe we are ready to make our way to the school,” Professor Fig said, a proud, kind smile lighting up his features.
It was a face that had nearly brought Coella to tears when she’d first seen it, this time. Having been there in his final moments, and getting to see him again, safe and intact… it was a lot for her.
“And you’ll be with her from the moment you leave this house to the moment she sets foot on campus?” Her father’s voice came looming from behind her. Her father, Gerhart Kaufmann, was a large man, tall and sturdily built. He was a fearsome man, and would have made an even more frightful Auror, had he not left the wizarding world behind. Beliefs about the way things were run- stuff Coella hadn’t ever asked about because she’d never known to do so, as he’d raised her completely free of magic. Her lack of magical ability until that point made it easy.
Coella still remembered when she exhibited her magical ability for the first time, the look on his face. He wasn’t disappointed , but he certainly wasn’t necessarily pleased. It was obvious that he had complicated feelings towards the wizarding world, but if it was a path that she decided she wished to go down, he wasn’t going to stop her.
He was just going to be fiercely protective of her every step of the way.
“Of course, Mister Kaufmann! I wouldn’t dream of doing otherwise. Are you ready, Miss Kaufmann?” Professor Fig replied, unphased.
Coella nodded, before she paused to set her bag down and turn, giving her father a tight hug, hoping that she could absorb some of the strength that he carried so easily. She had a daunting task ahead of her- starting from the moment she set foot out of their small London home. “Take care, okay, papa? Don’t stay late at the University too many nights in a row, and let your teaching assistants do more for you. And don’t, um, d-don’t forget to write. Please.”
“I’d never. Be good, and let me know if you’re having a hard time, okay? You can come right back home, you can always come back home, bunny,” He replied, his voice deep, and soothing. She nodded with a small sniff, trying not to get too emotional in front of Professor Fig (again), before she reluctantly pulled away and wiped at her eyes with her handkerchief.
Coella lifted her bag in her gloved hands and turned back towards the door, following Professor Fig out, glancing back at her father with a watery smile.
She was scared. It was obvious- but easy to pin on new-school-jitters. As much as she wanted to tell him everything, she couldn’t, not yet. Not until she knew she’d do everything right this time.
They made their way to the carriage pulled by the small group of thestrals, and Coella bit her lip- almost surprised to see them this time. When she’d left her house before, it’d appeared to be a magical cart, though she did vaguely remember seeing them after the dragon attack.
“We’ll just need a moment, I’ve informed my colleague of our departure and he wishes to join us,” Professor Fig said, and Coella nodded- having expected as much. Within a few moments, George Osric apparated in front of the pair, and after he and Fig exchanged pleasantries, the three moved towards the carriage.
Coella had been planning how to save her first person since she made the decision to go back- this was the most vital one, in a way. If she could do this, the very first death she’d witnessed since leaving her home, then she could save any, and all of them.
As soon as Fig got in, Coella immediately moved to sit on the opposite side of the carriage, forcing George to sit beside Fig. Neither were put off by it- or minded, or noticed, but she was buzzing with energy. This had a chance to go very, very wrong- with her sitting on the side of the carriage that will eventually be bitten off, but she had planned for this.
Soon, they were off in the sky, and her hands were fidgeting as George and Fig discussed in hushed voices about the small box that George produced. As soon as he pulled it out, instead of staying reserved like she had the first time, she immediately moved to point- “Is it glowing like that for you two as w- oop, I- I’m sorry,” she fumbled, when she reached out to touch the box, and it immediately opened. Glancing at her ornate pocket watch, she’d opened it a couple minutes before the dragon attack. “I didn’t break it, did I?”
“N… No, no, how did you open that-” George had started, but Coella cut in-
“What is it? It looks like a key! Is it a magic key?” She played up her ignorance, innocence, whatever- she didn’t care if it made her look mannerless or dumb, she needed to speed along this interaction. 2 minutes…
“It… appears to be a portkey. But to where could it lead…?” Fig replied, inspecting the key without touching it. “And you said Miriam found this? Then it must be connected with ancient magic…”
1 minute…
“Only one way to find out, right?” Coella replied hurriedly, panicked, reaching out to touch the key as both Fig and George moved with a shout to stop her. She was teleported to the cliffside near the ruins of Percival’s castle- and within the next few seconds, Professor Fig and George joined her.
“I- I cannot tell you how dangerous that was, Miss Kaufmann! You have no idea where this could have teleported you, or whether or not we could have followed-” George shouted, his face turning red with a mixture of worry and anger.
Coella shrunk back a little- as much as she knew how necessary it was, they couldn’t have known. And being shouted at was never pleasant. Despite all of that, she felt something rising up in her throat- she’d done it! She’d saved George Osric’s life!
Stumbling a little, Coella quickly realized that it wasn’t just a feeling rising in her throat, as she fell to her knees and emptied her stomach into the grass. The latent anxiety that had been twisting in her gut all morning had finally given away, it seemed.
“George, please!” Professor Fig admonished, moving to the young student’s side, placing a calming hand on her shoulder. “Are you alright, my dear?”
“Y- Yeah, um, I just, using that portkey upset my stomach, I- I think I landed wrong, too,” Coella replied, shifting back to rub her ankle a little. It was nearly the exact place that she’d hurt the first time, too.
Professor Fig handed her a couple of Wiggenweld potions and she drank one, pocketing the rest. She took the hand that he offered, using it to pull herself to her unsteady feet. She still felt anxiety and adrenaline coursing through her veins. She’d defied fate.
“Well… my apologies. Just, that was very dangerous. We’ll have to figure out where we are, and how far from Hogwarts we are…” George replied, rubbing a hand down his face, as the trio began to look about. Obviously Coella already knew where they were, but she had to play it safe.
“Look, professor! A castle, do you think perhaps we’re meant to go over to it?” Coella replied, tilting her head as she pointed out towards the crumbling ruins.
“Well, only one way to find out, eh?” Professor Fig replied, eyes twinkling with a hint of mischief as he recalled the words she spoke before grabbing for the portkey.
The three made their way down into the caves, Coella bringing up the rear as Professor Fig and George spoke about the key, what it meant, and what may lie in the castle. Coella kept her eyes on the back of George’s head, afraid that he was a figment of her imagination- or that he might slip and fall over the cliff’s edge, dying anyway. She was terrified to find any sign that everything she did or might do was in vain.
She didn’t realize she was staring and spacing out until her name was called, a couple of times.
“Ah! Uh, I’m sorry, could you repeat that? I- I’m still a little dazed,” Coella replied, blinking, and biting her lip.
“I asked about what you’d said before you’d opened the box that the portkey was in- you said it was glowing?” George remarked, glancing back at her.
“Uh, y-yes sir. It was glowing. Did you not see it?” She replied, head tilting innocently.
“Neither of us did, we’ve found. Perhaps… hm,” Fig hummed, trailing off. “Perhaps we’ll find out more when we get to those ruins.”
Coella nodded, clasping her hands together as they continued their journey.
From there, everything continued to run the path she remembered. The ruins, the portal, Gringotts, and the mysterious pensieve location. Everything, except for the addition of George, the thought of which still made Coella feel a little giddy, and a lot hopeful.
All of that, and they still arrived at Hogwarts late for the sorting ceremony. They tried to slip inside as quietly as possible, however everyone looked up when the doors to the Great Hall opened, revealing the new fifth year, Professor Fig, and George Osric of the Ministry of Magic slipping in.
Under the critical gaze of her new classmates and professors, Coella trotted her way up to the front, sitting down on the stool with a nervous, apologetic smile to Professor Weasley.
This… was the part that she was nervous for. So far, in the time she’d spent with Professor Fig and George, she’d been able to pass off a lot of her previous knowledge by playing dumb (something she was… rather good at, or at least had experience doing. Though a lot of it in the past hadn’t been ‘playing’, as she was admittedly not the brightest wand in the shop), and stray ‘feelings’ towards certain directions, from what she knew, the Sorting Hat was a legilimens of some sort, and as such…
“Ah… this ain’t your first time here, is it? I can see a lot of things going on in that head of yours,” The hat whispered, just for her ears. Thankfully. “Quite a large ambition, you ‘ave. I’m not going to ask how you’ve ended like this.” It went silent, deliberating, before announcing quite loudly- “Slytherin!”
Applause and some cheers rose from the Slytherin table, and Coella drifted from the front towards the table decorated in green and silver, a little dazed. That… wasn’t right. That wasn’t right at all. Last time, she’d been placed in Hufflepuff. It’d been very correct for her, having a soft and rather malleable constitution. She fit in, right at home with the members of her house, especially Poppy Sweeting, one of her closest friends from that time.
But… Slytherin? The hat had mentioned her ‘large ambition’, but was that enough to put her in a completely different house?
Or perhaps, it saw where one of the biggest focuses in her ‘ambition’ lay, as she turned her head to find the very largest source of her strife, and heartbreak. She’d only wanted to pick him out in the crowd, to see if he’d really be there and, lo and behold…
Further down the table, her slate gray eyes connected with the dark, warm brown ones of a certain Sebastian Sallow. He was looking right at her. And she was staring right back at him. And he did not look pleased.
Behind him sat Ominis Gaunt, his best friend-his lips moving as if he was talking to Sebastian, but it didn't appear that Sebastian was responding, or listening. Coella quickly turned her head, staring down at the food that just appeared in front of her, feeling her stomach begin to turn for the second time that day. She could still hear his voice, the words of the unforgivable curse falling from his lips, the flash of green spilling from his wand, into the chest of his uncle, his face as he took a horrified step back- all of it was spilling into the forefront of her mind, unbidden, unable to be stopped.
Coella quickly excused herself, and ran. Maybe she wasn't strong enough for this after all.