Chapter Text
Alice was falling. A second ago she was in the Great Hall having dinner with her housemates. Suddenly, her chair and the floor had disappeared from underneath her. She squeezed her eyes shut, not daring to open them.
Her back hit something hard. She remained lying down on the hard surface as she tried to control her breathing. The only thing she could focus on was the pounding of her heart. Taking a deep breath, she forced her eyes open, finding herself looking at an evening sky full of stars.
No, that wasn’t right. Alice inspected the stars and found that they looked more like candles. That must mean she’s inside. She sat up from her lying position and found herself facing a table she recognized.
It was the High table. Except, it was different. A man with a long beard stood in front of the headmistress’ chair, like he had suddenly stood up. Why wasn’t Professor McGonagall standing there? Alice looked closer at the man. She’d seen him somewhere before. He could easily tower over her with his tall and thin frame. His long hair and beard were a silver colour. On his long and crooked nose sat a pair of moon-shaped glasses.
Albus Dumbledore. But it couldn’t be him, he was dead since 25 years back. She looked to the man’s right where the deputy headmaster usually sits. Instead of Professor Flitwick, a stern-looking woman stood there instead. Professor McGonagall. To the man’s left sat Professor Flitwick. Next to Flitwick sat a man with black, greasy hair and a hooked nose. Severus Snape. Pomona Sprout was next to Professor McGonagall. She doesn’t work at Hogwarts anymore, so why was she there?
None of this made any sense. Dumbledore and Snape were both dead, and Professor McGonagall was headmistress. Professor Flitwick usually didn’t sit where he was sitting now. She looked over the High Table. The only professors she recognised were Professor Hagrid, Sinistra, Trelawney, Vector and Binns. They looked a bit older than usual. Professor Evander, Voland, Erwin, Woodman, Nishikawa or Baker were nowhere to be found. Neither was her father.
Her eyes wandered around the Great Hall, hoping to see a familiar face among the students. If she was lucky one might even be able to tell her what was going on. She’d ended up between the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables. The students stared at her, wide-eyed and gaping.
She recognised none of the students. None . She knew almost everyone at school in one way or another. Her eyes went blurry, brimming with tears. What was going on?
“Are you alright?”
She flinched. In front of her stood the man that looked like Albus Dumbledore. She hadn’t seen him coming over to her.
“W-what?” she shifted away from him.
“Are you alright?” he said once again, a gentle smile on his lips. “Most people who fall from the ceiling sustain injuries. Are you hurt anywhere?”
To her surprise, she wasn't. And if she was injured she hadn’t begun feeling it yet, too pumped on adrenaline. “No sir.”
“Good.” he smiled. “Now, may I ask how you ended up here? I’m quite certain I haven’t seen you at Hogwarts before.”
She took a deep breath, she needed to calm down or else the unshed tears in her eyes would fall. “I don’t know sir. I was having dinner in the Great Hall and all of a sudden I was falling and ended up here.”
“Curious, most curious.” he glanced up at the ceiling. “This might sound like a weird question, but what date is it?
Alice furrowed her brow. “It’s the tenth of October sir.”
“And the year?”
“It’s 2022.”
Whispers broke out among the students. Someone gasped at the Gryffindor table. The professor in a tacky pink ensemble stared at her weirdly. The bearded man showed no reaction, he only turned around to look at the staff behind him.
“Severus, could you fetch the veritaserum?”
The Snape look-alike (who was apparently also named Severus) nodded, leaving the Great Hall. Alice had heard about the potion in passing. She wasn’t a potions expert but she was certain it was a truth potion of some sort.
“Come with me”, the bearded man said. Alice got up from the floor and followed him.
♢⋄♢⋄♢
He led her into the staff room. It was decorated in the same way she remembered, except for the photos. She sat down on a green armchair as they waited for the Snape look-alike to arrive. They sat in silence, the bearded man watching her with a weird look in his eyes.
Finally, the Snape look-alike arrived. He handed her a vial and gestured for her to drink it. The potion inside was devoid of any colour, it was as clear as glass. She opened the vial. Unlike other potions this one was odourless.
She swallowed down her nerves and brought the vial to her lips. The potion had no taste, it was like she wasn’t drinking anything at all. A weird feeling came over her. It felt like her head was stuffed with cotton. She looked up at the two men.
The bearded man spoke. “Do you work for Lord Voldemort?”
Lord Voldemort? Why would she work for him? How would that even work? He was defeated, dead.
“No”, she said without hesitation.
None of the two men had a change in facial expression, but Alice still had a feeling they were relieved by the news.
“What year are you from?”
“2022.”
Alice thought the question was a bit weird, but the two men’s reactions to her answer were weirder. The Snape look-alike narrowed his eyes, staring at her. The bearded man had an odd look on his face, like he was thinking about something.
“State your date of birth?”
“May 17th, 2007.”
The two men looked at each other, sharing some sort of message nonverbally.
“What is your name?”
“Alison Hannah Longbottom.”
The bearded man’s eyes twinkled, almost as if her name pleased him.
“Who are your parents?”
“Neville and Hannah Longbottom née Abbott.”
The bearded man smiled, eye twinkle intensifying. The Snape look-alike showed no reaction.
“State your year and house.”
“Fifth year, I’m in Hufflepuff.”
“How did you end up here?”
“I don’t know.”
The bearded man looked at the Snape look-alike, doing the thing they’d been doing during the questioning. The Snape look-alike got the message and handed her a vial.
“Drink it”, he said. “It’s the antidote.”
She accepted the vial and chugged the liquid inside. Unlike the veritaserum, the antidote tasted faintly of salt water. The feeling of having cotton in her head disappeared.
“So, Miss Longbottom, since we know who you are, I think it is only fair that you know who we are”, the bearded man said. “My name is Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The man standing beside me is Severus Snape, the potions master.”
No. This wasn’t real. She must be dreaming. They’re both supposed to be dead . Both of them. Was this some weird alternate universe?
“Based on your reaction, I’m assuming we’re both dead in the future”, the bearded man — no, Dumbledore said.
“The future? What do you mean?”
“Miss Longbottom, it seems like you have somehow travelled to the past.”
“What?” her voice broke. They were lying, right? This must all be some sick prank.
“You’re not in 2022 anymore”, Snape said, a blank look on his face.
“Where am I then?”
“You’ve travelled to 1995”, Dumbledore said.
“What.” This could not be happening. “This has to be some kind of mistake.”
Dumbledore sighed. “Unfortunately, it’s not a mistake. But I promise you, we will do our best to get you back to the future.”
“How long will that take?”
“I can’t say. In the meantime, you should stay with your housemates so you don’t miss any schoolwork.”
Alice nodded.
“Now, while I inform the rest of the staff of the situation Professor Snape may take you to the Hospital Wing so Madam Pomfrey can give you a check-up. Professor Sprout will escort you to the Hufflepuff common room afterwards. It’s to make sure you’re not injured or affected by the time travel physically.”
“Yes, Professor.”
♢⋄♢⋄♢
The matron was exactly like she remembered, except a bit younger. Professor Snape left as soon as they arrived at the Hospital Wing, muttering about needing to get work done. Alice assumed it was an excuse to not stay there any longer.
After the examination, Madam Pomfrey declared that there was nothing wrong with her. A minute or two later Professor Sprout arrived. Alice had met her a couple of times before. She was always lovely to be around and she could see why her parents respected her so much. Her father had once gotten sick and needed to be on bedrest for a day and Professor Sprout was the substitute. She was equally as good of a professor as her father, in her very biased opinion. Before leaving, Madam Pomfrey made her promise to come to her if she was experiencing anything out of the ordinary.
Professor Sprout escorted her just as Dumbledore said. As they made their way to the common room they bumped into a group of students. One of the girls gave her a weird look and whispered something to her friends. Alice focused her gaze on the ground, hunching her shoulders. She normally didn’t have much of a problem with people but this was too much. After every corner they turned there were a new set of students staring and whispering. She sighed in relief once they finally arrived at the common room entrance.
She fixed her posture. If she was going to be staying with these people for an undetermined amount of time, she would need to make a good first impression. After an encouraging smile from Professor Sprout she tapped the correct barrels to the rhythm of Helga Hufflepuff. The door swung open and Alice took a deep breath. They stepped inside the common room.
The round room was exactly like it was in her time. The overstuffed sofas she and her housemates sat on at the end of the day hadn’t moved an inch in the last 27 years. The plants weren't the same plants they had, but that was to be expected. During her time at the school, several plants had been replaced due to them dying. Students sat around the room chatting, doing homework or playing chess and exploding snap.
Professor Sprout cleared her throat. “Could I have your attention please?”
The chatter died down and the students snapped their attention towards the entrance. Alice swallowed. That was a lot of people. She willed herself to keep her back straight. Confidence was the last thing she was feeling at this point. Fake it til you make it, Alice.
“I know you must be feeling very confused right now after the incident at dinner today. I will hopefully answer some of your questions. Today in the Great Hall the girl standing beside me appeared. She happens to be from the future, the year 2022 to be precise. Professor Dumbledore has used a truth potion to confirm this. While we try to figure out a way to send her back to her time she will be staying with the Hufflepuff fifth years, an extra bed has been added to their dorm room. Please don’t ask her anything about what happens in the future since it will mess with time and change the future. Now dear, would you like to introduce yourself?”
“Hi everyone”, Alice took a deep breath, never having been a fan of public speaking. “My name’s Alison, but you can call me Alice if you want. I’m in my fifth year and in Hufflepuff.”
Professor Sprout smiled at her before turning her attention towards her students. “That was all for now, the staff will update you if anything else happens. Now, Miss Abbott, I trust you to show Alice to your dormitory and to take care of her for the duration of her stay. That applies to all the other prefects, the Head Boy and Head Girl as well.”
Professor Sprout gave her an encouraging smile before leaving the room. A girl approached her. She looked to be around her age, and on her robes sat a shiny prefect badge. Her face was slightly pinkish, her eyes were blue and her blonde hair was pulled into a bun. They were around the same height. The girl was eerily familiar, she just couldn’t figure out who she was.
The girl had a smile on her face. “I’m Hannah Abbott, fifth year prefect. It’s nice to meet you!”
Dear Merlin. That was her 15-year-old mother standing in front of her. Now that she thought about it, she could recognize some of the features as her own. The blond hair, the short stature and the pink face were all things she had inherited from her mother, while her round face and brown eyes were inherited from her father.
“It’s nice to meet you too.” Alice forced herself to smile. When she was told she was in the past she hadn’t realised that she would meet her parents. Now was not the time to freak out. “Would you mind showing me the dorm?”
Hannah smiled. “Oh, of course. I already sent the other girls up there, I thought it would be helpful if you met all of them at the same time.”
Hannah led her to the corridor with the girls' dorms. Like everything else in the common room, the seven doors leading to each dormitory hadn’t changed one bit. Alice’s dorm was behind the second one, but Hannah led her to the fifth door instead. It would take a while to remember to go there instead.
Inside the circular room were five beds. Three girls were sitting on what Alice assumed was their beds. The bed closest to the bathroom was unmade and empty, it probably belonged to Hannah. The three girls’ attention snapped to them. One of them had red hair that was pulled into a french braid. Maybe Susan Bones? Another was dark-skinned with curly brown hair that sat just above her shoulders. The last girl had light brown hair and a septum piercing.
“Your bed is the one over there”, Hannah said, gesturing to the bed the farthest from the bathroom. “Anyways, let’s all introduce ourselves. I’ve already introduced myself so I’ll keep it short. I’m Hannah Abbott, I’m a prefect and I enjoy cooking and baking.”
Hannah gestured for the redhead to go next. “I’m Susan Bones, reserve seeker for the Hufflepuff Quidditch team.”
Susan turned to the dark-skinned girl. “My name’s Sally-Anne Perks, I’m in the Gobstones club.”
“The name’s Megan Jones”, the girl with light brown hair said.
“I’m Alison, feel free to call me Alice. I’m in the Frog Choir and I’m a prefect.”
“You and Hannah have that in common”, Sally-Anne said. Her smile showed off her tooth gap.
Hannah sat down on her bed, Alice following in suit. The room was filled with silence until Hannah broke it. “So Alice, do you have any siblings?”
“I have an older brother named Franklin, most people call him Frank. He’s in his seventh year in Gryffindor and head of the Gobstones club.”
“What houses were your parents in?” Sally-Anne asked and tilted her head.
“Mum was a Hufflepuff and dad was a Gryffindor.”
“What do your parents work as?” Susan asked.
“Well, my dad used to be an Auror but now he’s the herbology professor. Mum used to be the landlady of the Leaky Cauldron, she works as a healer at St. Mungo’s right now and she’s planning on taking over for Madam Pomfrey once she retires in a couple of years.”
“That sounds so cool! I’ve always wanted to be a healer”, Hannah said with a look of jealousy on her face.
Susan smiled. “I’m sure you’ll be able to get in Hannah. Anyways, I want to work at the Department of Magical Law Enforcement like my aunt.”
Megan rolled her eyes. “That sounds boring. I wanna travel the world, maybe be a cursebreaker or something. I don’t want to sit in an office all day.”
“Yeah me too. I think I’d like a job where I could use my hands a lot. I’d like to try working at someplace like Madam Malkin’s, at least for a little while. I’m not sure what I’d like to do in the long run. What about you Alice?” Sally-Anne agreed.
“I don’t know. I might want to try out a couple of things before I decide.”
“Didn’t you say you were in the Frog Choir? Maybe making music could be a good career option.” Hannah said.
“Maybe, but I don’t think I’m good enough. Plus, it doesn’t seem like a stable career anyways.”
Alice had thought about it of course. She wanted nothing more than to be able to sing and write her own music. But it wasn’t that simple. The chances that she’d succeed were non-existent. No one she knew had that much of an interest in music. Her classmates would probably just judge her if she said anything.
Knock, knock.
Megan sighed, stood up and opened the door. Behind it were a bunch of guys their age. One was stout-looking and had blondish hair. The boy standing next to him had curly brown hair. Another had short black hair, one had messy brown hair and the last one had a large birthmark by his eye.
Alice recognized some of them immediately. The boy with curly brown hair was clearly Justin Finch-Fletchely and the boy with blondish hair was Ernie Macmillan. Besides those two birthmark-guy was unrecognisable and the other two boys familiar. “What do you want?”
“Is it okay if we meet her? You know since we’re going to be staying together til the professors figure things out”, the boy with brown hair asked, rubbing the back of his neck. Weird. She couldn’t remember who he was. She’d met all of her mother’s former yearmates.
“Is that okay with you?” Hannah asked.
Alice didn’t know what to respond, still a bit startled by not knowing the brown-haired boy. “Yeah, I guess they can come in.”
The five guys settled down on the floor.
“I’m assuming you’re also in your fifth year?” Alice said, looking over the new faces.
“Correct. I’m Ernie Macmillan, prefect with Hannah.”
“I’m Justin Finch-Fletchley, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Roger Malone”, the boy with short black hair said. Roger looked a bit different in the future, his hair was longer and he had a scar on his cheek from the Battle of Hogwarts.
“I’m Oliver Rivers”, the boy with the birthmark said. Young Oliver was shorter and he had no tattoo on his arm.
The brown-haired boy spoke, a smile on his lips. “The name’s Wayne Hopkins.”
Oh . That explains why she had never met him. Wayne Hopkins had been one of the students that died fighting during the Battle of Hogwarts. Now that she knew who he was she could sort of recognize him. Mum kept a photo album from her school days, and there were a couple of photos of Wayne in there.
“Alison, feel free to call me Alice.”
“Are we allowed to ask for your full name?” Oliver asked.
Roger rolled his eyes.
“No, unfortunately, my name reveals stuff about the future.”
“Have you met any of us before?” Justin asked.
“I’ve met most of you since my parents are still close to their former classmates.”
Ernie nodded. “Interesting.”
The room fell silent. No one knew what to say. Sally-Anne clapped her hands together. “So… anyone interested in a game of chess?”
“Maybe in a bit? I want to finish some homework before tomorrow”, Oliver said.
“Sounds good. Let’s meet here in two hours?” Hannah said.
They all agreed and went to do their separate things, only Alice and Sally-Anne were left in the dorm room. Alice wanted nothing more than to be alone right now. Usually, she was eager to be with other people and getting to know them but she was feeling a bit overwhelmed.
“Hey, I’m gonna go and take a shower”, she said.
Sally-Anne nodded. “The towels are in the cabinet above the sink. You can use my shampoo and soap if you’d like. They’re the purple bottles.”
“Thanks.”
Alice entered the bathroom, locking the door behind her. She took a towel and hung it up on the hook on the wall. Alice undressed and hopped into the shower. She sighed as the warm water hit her. Then it dawned on her. She was stuck 27 years in the past . This was not good at all. What if she never gets to go home again? What if she accidentally says something and the whole timeline changes drastically? What if her family forgets her?
Fuck. She was the same age as her parents. Frank wasn’t even born yet. She wasn’t even born yet. How will her parents react when they find out she’s missing? Will they even realise she’s in the past?
It had only been a few hours since she arrived here and she already wanted to go back home. Everything here was so similar yet so different. Kate wouldn’t keep her awake at night from her snoring because she forgot to cast a silencing charm on her bed. She wouldn’t need to wake up Rebecca 20 minutes before classes started. She wouldn’t see her father in herbology anymore.
Her vision blurred and her eyes stung. This time she let the tears fall. She lowered herself to the floor. There was no need to quiet her sobs, the running water covered them up. No one could see her and judge her for not having herself under control.
She sat there for a couple of minutes. If she was in the shower for too long someone would come looking for her. She’d only freak everyone out if they found her like this. She got up on her feet, turned off the water and dried herself off. Alice dressed herself and took a quick look at herself in the mirror. There was no trace of her crying left. Good. She needed to look presentable for the chess game later.