A Twist In Time

The Unforgivable

The one thing I could get away with that included magic was my tent. On the outside, it looked like a small one-person tent that no one would blink an eye at. With a quick charm, no Muggle would want to enter a bit like the spells cast on Hogwarts.

"Fucking hell," a voice said interrupting my thoughts as I looked at the photo album I'd put together of Thomas-J and the Shelby's. The page I was currently on had a picture of Tommy next to a picture of Thomas-J and I'd been staring at them both wondering if we'd ever get to be our little family. "You gotta love magic, ain't ya."

It was no surprise to me that Alfie was slightly in awe of the magic of the tent. It was an upgrade from the one Papa, Hermione and Ron used when they were on the hunt for Horcruxes.

This one had been dad's - one of his great ideas to bring the family together, and he'd roped most of the aunts and uncles into it too. It had an open living area with kitchen and dining space and at the back was a master bedroom and four other double rooms. There were also three bathrooms and an area which held brooms and games. It was a bit much and I was still pondering why they even wanted me to take the tent in the first place.

Did they have a feeling I was going to get trapped in the past? Were they trying to bring me back? Did I even want to go back?

My God, I felt like one of those bloody Marie-Sue's or whatever she was called. Margret? Mary?

"What are you doing here?" I asked, no malice to my voice. I was generally surprised that he was here. He didn't seem like the sort of man to turn up in my tent in the middle of the night.

"Though I'd come 'ave a word."

Oh, great. He was probably here to break the news that I was going to be arrested for assaulting a doctor.

"Do I have to leave?" I asked, setting the album down on the coffee table. Alfie gave me a funny look as he strutted over to me and dropped down in dad's armchair.

"What you gotta leave for?" He seemed surprised. Wasn't I getting sent back to London and arrested for assaulting a man? "No."

"Did I say that out loud?" I said, biting my bottom lip as he gave a small laugh. "Merlin's Beard! Alfie, you know how to laugh."

"Err, listen here, love, we kinda got off on the wrong foot, aye?"

"By the wrong foot do you mean when you tortured Newt?"

Yeah, mate, I haven't forgotten about that.

"Now, look here, that was all a misunderstanding, right?"

"How was that a misunderstanding? He was tied to a fucking chair and had clearly been beaten," I snapped, rising from my chair and looking down at him.

To my annoyance, Alfie leaned back in his chair, arms resting over the chair arms and shoulders spread wide. His legs were spread wide, knees expanded as he made himself look large in the chair. It was an intimidation method and I could already tell that he hadn't even known he'd done it.

"Yeah well, you see, love, it was all a plan." He raised his hand to stop me from talking and I did like a little follower - is this what it felt like to be under Voldemort's thumb? Huh, I guess I shouldn't say that considering the bad history with the family. "One of our men he went and told the fucking Germans our plan, yeah, but we didn't know which fucker it was. See, your boy, Newton, yeah he had this idea of luring it out of them by pretending he had some very important information he discovered from the Germans."

I was almost distracted by the way he drew out his words. Instead of hearing Newton, it sounded more like Neeewtoon - if that made sense? His voice was gruffly and kind of a mumble at the same time. And he could talk for Britain.