Amulet of Time 2: Two Worlds, Two Wars

Chapter 14: In The Meantime

After that first night in the Logans' home Harry and Eustace became inseparable. At night, when one of them had a nightmare, they would go into the other's room and talk. Their conversations often lasted long into the night, and sometimes even until morning. Eustace would talk about his family, and how much he was missing them. Usually he would break down, only to be comforted by his adopted 'brother'. The same went for Harry. He told Eustace as much as he could about his troubles, without revealing too much. He told him about Cedric dying, and a bit about Gallatea. When he thought about Glenadade, he would feel a deep sense of sorrow, but knowing he had Eustace to take care of now gave him a sense of purpose. Even though he hadn't been there for his son, he wanted to be there for his great-great-great-grandson. It made the guilt lessen a little, showing he was willing to play his part. The rest of the group couldn't understand why the pair had become so close, especially considering the age difference, but they were never told. The late night discussions were kept between them, as they didn't want everyone else to think they were weak.

The Logans turned out to be decent people. They welcomed the six students into their home and made sure they had enough to eat and wear. Although there was rationing, and the six new arrivals didn't have any coupons, they were able to conjure any extra food they needed. Amelia mothered them, the younger ones especially. It was as if she was making up for the children she had always wanted but never had. Minh had finally started to calm down after the air raid, but still jumped at loud noises. She had started clinging to Harry and Eustace more and more. While she was not privy to the details of the nightly arrangements, she found she got on best with the two boys. Eustace, being the same age as her, shared a lot of her interests. Harry was also good for her, as they could discuss elven matters when the others weren't around. Hermione, Ginny and Ron often felt a little left out, but the three of them spending so much time together had a positive effect. Ron began, for the first time in his life, to see Ginny as an independent and capable young woman, rather than the little sister he had to protect. He was also seeing Hermione in a different light. He had noticed a change since the Yule ball in their fourth year, but his attachment to the girl was becoming stronger the more time they spent together.

Since their first day at the Logans' home, the students had been helping the Muggles in the area to reconstruct their lives. The four time travellers were shocked at the sense of community that existed. Everyone helped everyone else, with few exceptions. Thinking back to Muggles in the nineties, there was no comparison. In their own time everyone was too selfish, thinking only of themselves. An unfortunate result of Thatcherite Britain. All sense of community had been lost, so this time, where everyone helped everyone else, seemed very strange. They got into it full force, though. They helped to clear rubble and salvage possessions, doing everything the Muggle way, rather than using magic. They rebuilt damaged walls and constructed temporary dwellings for those whose homes were completely leveled. Air raid shelters were always in short supply, so they conjured corrugated iron and wood, and used it to build people shelters in their gardens. It gave them a sense of satisfaction, knowing that despite their situation, being cut off from the wizarding world, they could still make a difference.

The evenings were spent with John and Amelia, helping them to rebuild their house. All exterior work had to be done by hand, as the Muggles would have been able to see it. The interior, though, was repaired using magic by the four older students. The first years hadn't learned enough yet to help. One of the reasons they had used magic to begin with was in the hope of getting a warning owl from the Department of Underage Magic. If they had received one, they would have been able to use the bird to send a letter to Dumbledore. Their hopes were shattered, though, when Eustace told them that for the duration of the war underage witches and wizards were allowed to use magic, within reason.

Two weeks after the air raid, the students were settled in to their new home. Amelia had grown very attached to them, and was dreading the time when they would leave. Minh and Eustace didn't want to leave either, as the adults made them feel safe. Eustace wasn't too bad because he had his 'brother', but Minh was missing her mother and aunt. She wanted nothing more than to go back to the elf world. Unfortunately, both she and Harry had left their transportation stones at Hogwarts for safekeeping. The floo network was also proving a problem. As expected, it had been knocked out by the explosions and had yet to be brought back online. It was something the Logans couldn't do anything about. The network had to be reconnected from the central floo control centre, and they were usually very busy after an air raid. All of the wizarding and squib fireplaces would have to be brought back online one at a time, and it could take up to a month before it was their turn. They just had to wait it out. Every night, though, they checked the fireplace by throwing floo powder into it. If it were to turn green, they would know the system was working again.