The Dark Question (A Time Travel Tale)

Chapter Two: Only the Beginning

The Dark Question-Chapter Two: Only the Beginning

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter series. All Harry Potter trademarks belong to Warner Bros. and Ms. Jo Kathleen Rowling.

Author’s Note: I am extremely sorry for the delay, but I have been suffering from a huge case of writer’s block. If you guys have any ideas, don’t hesitate to leave a comment. 

September first, 1977

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   Professor Harry ‘Paulsen’ had nothing to do except for to sit back, wait, and fiddle with his collar while awaiting the arrival of the students. He leaned back in his seat and surveyed his surroundings. Most of the Hogwarts professors had not arrived in the Great Hall yet, but they were trickling in every few minutes. The Hall itself seemed vast, more enormous than Harry had ever remembered. It was perhaps because of the lack of bodies occupying the room. Only about four lonely staff members were currently sitting at the staff table, looking out to the four enormous but empty house tables. Half an hour later, Harry’s mind was still on the awesome size the Hall when the doors at the end of the Hall burst open and a pack of students surged through. He nearly fainted when he glimpsed at the two boys who were leading the pack. His teenaged father and godfather were talking animatedly as they slid into seats at the Gryffindor table. 

    Harry had been warned about a couple of troublemakers, but had not dwelled on the subject. His mind was far too busy to think about a few rule-breakers when there were lesson plans to be written out and books to assign. But he now realised that he would not be dealing with just a normal, run of the mill classroom criminal, but the mighty Marauders. They were sure to wreak havoc on well…… just everything. And………this meant he was supposed to be teaching his teenaged parents? This was just barmy. A joke. A joke so funny it was starting to make him sick.

    While waiting for the feast to begin, Harry’s head started to hurt. It might have been because of a combination of hunger and the dull nature of the sorting this year. The first years of nineteen seventy seven were a highly interesting lot, but Harry wasn’t very into the sorting.

 As Dumbledore stood up to make his famous start of term speech, a sudden hush fell over the crowd.

  “Now, I know that your stomachs are rumbling away, so this little speech shouldn’t take long. First, let me introduce to you two new members of our staff, Professor Paulsen, who will be filling in the post of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. We are very grateful to have him here, considering the tragic………accident that befell Professor Greene last term. I am also pleased to introduce Mr. Filch, who will be your new caretaker. Our previous caretaker, Mr. Pringle, has chosen retirement this year, and we all know he deserves a well- earned break.” Dumbledore smiled at the crowd, eyeing James Potter and Sirius Black.

“Now, I hope you enjoy our delicious feast and have a safe and happy term.”

   As Dumbledore finished his speech, large platters of food appeared on the House tables.  Everyone dug in.

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September 2nd, 1977

   The sun was blinding. Harry pulled the covers over his head and rolled to one side. He groaned and got up reluctantly. As he walked to the bathroom, a wave of nervousness overcame him as he remembered that he would be teaching his first class of the day, his first class ever in just one hour’s time. Harry took a deep breath and attempted to overcome his anxiety. The Great Hall was waiting for his presence, and he was most likely in danger of being late. He sighed and wondered why he had signed on for the job when he knew that Dumbledore could have helped him back to his own time. Only a Gryffindor could possess such recklessness, he thought fondly.

   Twenty minutes later, Harry was flying down the corridors, hoping, desperately wishing, that there was at least a morsel of food left for him. As he burst through the doors to the Great hall with a deafening BANG, causing all the students and quite a few teachers to stop in mid-sentence or mid-bite to look up. Several of the first years whimpered or uttered a soft scream, and with good cause, too. Harry looked quite eerie silhouetted against the door frame, shadows concealing most of his body. Startled, he jumped out of the shadows, nearly drowning in his own embarrassment. Walking stiffly up to the staff table, Harry hardly heard anything.

  Suddenly, there was a swift bark of laughter and a shout of, “Blimey, professor, splendid prank! You really got me!”

 Harry whirled around, and his eyes fell on James Potter.

 His voice was cold as he said, “It wasn’t a prank.”

 “Sure seemed like one, sir.  As I said, you got me good.”

   Ignoring the rather gibing comment, Harry continued his march to the staff table. As he slid into his seat, he sighed. And to think that this is only the beginning, he thought.

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I know that this is probably one of my worst chapters, but I really wanted to get something to all you readers. Feel free to flame me or drop a review or an idea. Giving me ideas or criticism will really help me do a better job next time and hopefully help with the writer’s block. Anyways, if you’ve got any ideas about the story, or about what happens in it. You never know, your idea just might be used. All ideas, flames, or just reviews are appreciated. Favorites and follows are greatly appreciated, too. Sorry again for the delay, and thanks for reading.

I also have a (more completed) version of this up on fanfiction.net, so you can check me out there if you don't want to wait for the next five or four chapters on wattpad. Just secarch Backward Mind or type in the title of this story and part of the sumary into the search bar. It should work. Send me a message if you are interested but confused.