Lessons Learned (A Harry Potter Changes The Future Fanfic) Part 1 of 3

Chapter 2 Dealing With The Changes

Hermione and Ron watched as Harry left with Severus without a word.

Following the example of them and everyone else, they made their way to the common room, the twins and Neville following in their wake.

Hermione and Ron kept shooting each other discreet glances, unsure what to think as they knew they were meant to be together. The twins were looking sadly at each other, silently vowing to never let the other one get away quite so easily and swearing to always have each other’s back.

Neville was walking sedately behind, contemplating the coming future, what would change, what would stay the same.

Unseen in a shadowy cove, a malicious grin on their face, was a shadowy figure. Once the teens were far enough away, they let out a cackling laugh and rushed at once to the owlery to deliver a missive to their master.

*****

Molly, her husband, and her sons no longer in school, settled on the mix-match couches and chairs around the fire.

“Molly, dear, it will be okay.” Arthur said, comforting his wife with an arm around her shoulder and holding her right hand with his.

“I just wish this would all end. It seems like an endless cycle. It can be done once again. But what new prices will we be forced to pay? And poor Harry..” finished Molly with a sob.

“He knows about it. He knows he can come back. Will that make a difference? Will it be less selfless and change the outcome of his surviving?” Asked Charlie, giving voice to the concerns on everyone’s mind.

Everyone exchanged uneasy glances.

At first the idea of knowing how to make things better seemed like a brilliant idea. It seemed it would be such an incredible help.

Now though, doubts were niggling into the backs of everyone’s mind.

“We’ll be there beside him, helping him.” Vowed Bill.

Everyone nodded and decided to go to sleep. They had a lot to think about before the next Order meeting.

*****

Teddy sat nestled between his parents in their room, staring into the fire as they all sipped from their foamy glasses of hot chocolate.

“I don’t want to lose ya’ll again. Please be careful from here on out. It would be cruel to have such a miracle happen for it to be thrown away in a moment of recklessness.” Teddy begged in a whisper.

“Don’t worry, cub. It will all be okay. We know what needs to be done. Your mom and I will never leave you.” Remus reassured him.

Teddy smiled in thanks before excusing himself and pressing the knot on the wall that opened an entrance into the Gryffindor boy’s room stairwell. Once he walked through the opening, it sealed itself shut.

*****

Draco walked into the Slytherin Dungeons, shield charm and hexes on the tip of his tongue.

Ever since his new ‘adoption’ of sorts, he had gone from the Slytherin Prince to a traitor amongst most.

He had to constantly be on his guard.

Thanks to the potions he had from his god-father, no one was any the wiser of the ambushes and attacks he had been facing. Ridicule, taunts, and near deadly hexes had all been thrown his way

It was a constant fight for his life it seemed. His father and Voldemort were…. Less than pleased with his and his mothers’ choices. Just the day before, he received a cursed envelope/portkey. Using the spells his god father taught him, he was able to avoid being sucked away. Having received a book on curse detection a few days before from Sirius, he soon knew that the curse on the letter was no small thing. It was part silencing, part torture. Once you touched the envelope, you would be stunned and silenced before put under a curse akin to the cruciatus. Depending on the amount of anger used in casting, he could’ve been under minutes or hours only to be spirited away once it ran its course.