A NOT SO HARMLESS FOE

Harry trudged heavily down the dark and damp corridor. He felt utterly stupid, he'd been lured out yet again, and this is where it had landed him. He huffed and his steps echoed off the wall.

Flashback
Harry was happily tucking into his dinner. His day hadn't been that bad so far and he didn't have a lot of homework to go back to.

He was just reaching across for his dessert when Neville plonked himself heavily next him. Harry looked at him enquiringly when Neville made no attempt to get any dinner.

"Are you ok?" he asked. Neville looked at him sadly and oddly a bit unfocused.

"Erm…" said Neville. "I think…I think someone's after me," he finished in a hushed voice. Harry raised his eyebrows at him and Neville nodded slowly.

"Why?" asked Harry again lowering his head towards Neville's. Neville shrugged. "I don't know… little things keep appearing where I haven't put them or disappearing when I haven't taken them."
Harry frowned slightly and then nodded sympathetically and patted him on the shoulder.

"It'll be ok," he said "You'll be fine as long as you're in Hogwarts nobody can get you in here."

Neville looked at him pleadingly and then nodded and got up. Harry rolled his eyes as Neville left, he returned to his dessert unsure of what he'd just heard. It sounded absurd but there was something Harry had seen deep in Neville's eyes that said different.

Over the next couple of days Harry kept a close eye on Neville and the goings on around him.

Neville, it seemed, was right things did keep appearing. Like buttons around his bed, and little grains of dirt on the floor. Harry had asked all the other boys in the dormitory but non of them had come in with dirty shoes on. Harry was starting to get worried for Neville, he seemed very distant. He confided his troubles to two people he knew he could trust, Ron and Hermione.

As expected Ron brushed it off completely saying that he was being paranoid, and Hermione had suggested going to Dumbledore. Harry couldn't possibly go and see Dumbledore… what would he say? He would sound stupid and well… paranoid. If only that little niggling thought would disappear then maybe he could get on with life.

The next thing to happen was when Harry had woken up in the middle of the night and found a person's head pressed up against the dormitory window. He lit up his wand but the mysterious person disappeared before he could even get out of bed. He was starting to doubt his words to Neville of 'You'll be fine'.

The next day he inspected the window a little more closely, sure enough there were fingerprints pressed on it from the outside. He showed them to Ron who, once he saw them, started to see it from Harry's point if view.

Nothing happened for the next few days, no buttons or dirt, no midnight visits no fingerprints. Neville wasn't even complaining anymore, but he didn't seem himself at all.

Then on Sunday Neville had gone. Just disappeared in the middle of the night. Harry, Ron and Hermione searched the entire grounds for him fruitlessly, before returning back to Gryffindor tower.

Harry sighed he was going to have to go to Dumbledore now. He trudged upstairs to put on a clean T-shirt. He managed to get this one dirty when he'd asked Ron and Hermione to help push him under a thick hedge to check there. He gasped as he entered the dormitory there on his bed was a small piece of parchment.

Potter,
If you want to see your friend again you must meet me and Neville in the Forbidden Forest tonight at 10 O Clock. Bring nobody else with you or you'll never see him again.
Yours
Draco Malfoy

He held the parchment for some time before stuffing it under the covers of his bed. He was panicking slightly now. He knew who'd got Neville, and he knew where to go. He decided he should at least tell Ron and Hermione where he was going even if they couldn't come along too.

Once he'd explained they both burst into shouts of how stupid it was, that he was definitely not going alone and such like. Eventually he came to the decision that he wouldn't go alone, they could come too but under his invisibility cloak and a good ten feet behind him.

Harry, Ron and Hermione were sat in the eerily quiet common room when half past nine came. Harry stood up and motioned for the other two to do the same.

"Right," he whispered. "Cloak on in here, we don't know who could be watching outside." Hermione nodded and pulled the cloak over Ron and herself.

"We can walk down to the wood together, but once there I'll go in first and then you two follow behind me." Hermione's hand raised from under the cloak in understanding. Harry grinned at the hand that was now, seemingly, floating in mid-air, before it disappeared under the cloak again. He turned round and they set off.

They didn't come across any obstructions along the way out of the castle which Harry found weird. Even though he was taking the usual precautions of looking around corners before going round them and looking over banisters before descending stairs, there was nothing. Not that he wasn't grateful, it would be difficult to explain to Filch that he was just off to the woods to get back a friend that had been kidnapped by a mad student.

Finally they reached the edge of the woods and Harry put his hand out behind him to stop Ron and Hermione.

"Remember," he whispered quietly before plunging into the woods. He heard Ron and Hermione do likewise a minute or so after. It was dark and quiet in the forest and Harry held his wand out at all times lighting his way. Harry was now glad he had Ron and Hermione with him, he wouldn't have wanted to come in here alone.

It now occurred to Harry that he didn't know where to look for Draco and Neville, the letter hadn't said. His question was answered a good fifteen minutes later when out of nowhere a bright flash of light illuminated in front of Harry. He was temporarily blinded and held up his hands to block the brightness.

"Expelliarmus," he heard a voice say and felt his wand fly out of his hand. This was no good, now he wasn't armed. When the light faded to a soft glow he put down his hands. He looked around and saw Malfoy walking towards him with a sneer on his face.

"Hero Potter to the rescue again," he jeered. Harry scowled at him but remained silent. Malfoy walked right up to him their noses almost touching.

"This would be a brilliant effort on your part if I even had Longbottom." Harry's fist clenched up.

"What?" he said through clenched teeth. Malfoy laughed at him and Harry felt his blood boil… the red mist rising.

"Longbottom was under the Imperius curse. He planted information about somebody being after him. He planted the buttons and the dirt. It was me you saw at the window, and at this very moment in time I have instructed Longbottom to go for a very long walk around Hogsmeade." he laughed evilly again.

Harry felt the bottom drop out of his stomach, thank God he didn't know Ron and Hermione were here too.

"You are the real reason I am here," he said quietly and before Harry could do anything he had pulled out a white rag and placed it firmly over Harry's mouth. Harry, now in a state of shock, was easily pulled round so that he had his back to Malfoy and was bent backwards slightly.

Harry breathed in the vapours of chloroform from the cloth, he could do nothing else Malfoy had a very tight grip on him. He felt his knees weaken and saw his vision fade but before he completely passed out he heard a faint

"Harry no…" followed by a

"Stupefy,"

Then his legs gave way completely and he fell backwards into Malfoy.

He woke up slowly, his head banging. He forced open his eyes and looked around blearily.

"I told you to come alone," he heard Malfoy mutter. He blinked quickly to get his vision clear. Malfoy was pacing in front of him in a well lit room. He moved slightly and discovered his arms were tied behind him, he was sat on a chair.

"What?" he said thickly, frowning at the foul taste in his mouth. Malfoy glared at him.

"I told you to come alone. But no… had to bring Weasel and Mudblood along." Harry met Malfoy's gaze.

"What did you do to them?" he said forcibly, struggling against his bonds slightly. Malfoy grinned at his efforts.

"I was instructed to get you, not harm anyone else," he said quietly.

"I stunned them and then had to drag them back to the edge of the forest and come back to port key us two here." he gestured around him. Harry looked around, it was a very large room, with a lot of expensive looking furniture and décor.

"But now…" Harry's eyes snapped back to Malfoy, and his mouth opened. Dangling from thin golden chain was a time turner.

"…the final piece shall be put into place." He grabbed Harry's hair roughly and thrust the chain over both their necks.

Harry desperately tried to watch how many times he span the damn thing but couldn't quite see, Draco's grip was painfully hard. The room span out of control, and Harry felt very nauseous.

Finally they stopped and Draco undid the chain and let go of Harry. Draco stepped back and grinned before replacing the chain around his neck and spinning the time turner the opposite way.
He disappeared.

Harry looked around fretfully, he was in the same room but it was darker now, and cobwebs hung in the corners. Suddenly from behind him he heard a door open and bang against the wall.

"Right on time," he heard a man say roughly. The man untied his hands and dragged him to his feet.
End Flashback

A wand prodding him in his back broke his train of thought, and he carried on walking. This one was going to be difficult to get out of, for Christ's sake he was back in time. How far he was not sure, but definitely back.

He reached a heavy looking wooden door. It had black hinges on it and Harry watched as his captor pushed his wand at the lock muttered something of which he wasn't sure and the door clicked and creaked open.

He was pushed roughly inside, and he stumbled before falling over completely hitting his back against the stone wall at the back of the cell.

He glared angrily at the Death Eater who simply smirked back before shutting and locking the door again.

He sat up properly, he'd hit himself pretty hard but no lasting damage as far as he could tell.

He looked around, it was dark in here just a small window letting in the tiniest amount of moonlight. It cast a light blue glow around the top of the room. He froze, he'd just heard breathing. He was not alone in here. He sat still listening carefully.

"Who do you reckon that was?" muttered a small and very quiet voice.
Harry frowned it was female, and she was talking to someone else. That meant there was at least another two people in the room, he listened again.

"Don't know," said a heavy male voice. Three counted Harry

"Do you think he's awake?" said another quieter male voice. Harry's eyes widened, Four.

"I'm not sure if he is he hasn't said anything. Oi! Are you awake?" said a stronger male voice. Harry stayed silent, he didn't know who these people were, and there were four of them. The last male voice sighed,

"Must have been knocked out when he fell."

Quiet agreements broke out from around Harry and he concentrated on keeping his breathing hushed. There was silence, and Harry pressed himself quietly against the wall. If only he had some kind of light. He pressed his fingers into his eyes and rubbed.

"When I get out of here I'm going to rip Peter to shreds," muttered the heavy male voice. Harry's head snapped up, and he felt anger rise up inside him. He couldn't help himself

"Peter?" he said through gritted teeth. There was a lot of shuffling around him and he regretted speaking.

"Pettigrew?" he finished still as tense as ever. He figured if they knew he was awake why not carry on. The quieter male voice spoke.

"How do you know Peter Pettigrew?" Harry was still a bit unsure of his cellmates so decided to keep the information he gave them vague.

"He sold my family out to Voldemort," he muttered croakily. He heard breathing very close to him.

This quiet voiced male had come and sat right next to him. He tensed slightly, but instead of anything threatening he felt the man put his arm around his shoulder.

"How old are you?" the heavy voiced man said sounding a bit pained. Harry frowned.

"Why do you want to know?" he asked perplexed.

"You just don't sound that old that's all," answered the heavy voiced man slowly. Harry shrugged, it couldn't hurt to tell them his age.

"I'm sixteen."
There was an intake of breath from all around.

"You're so young," said the female voice. Harry shrugged again, he'd heard all this before.

"What's your name," said the strong male voice. Harry rolled his eyes.

"Harry…P…" he stopped himself, giving last names in the wizarding world meant giving away secrets, weaknesses, relatives. Something he could do without.

"What about you lot?" he muttered trying to cover up his missed last name. The other people in the room had not missed it at all but decided to let it be. They agreed subconsciously to just give their first names.

"Remus," said the man next to him. Harry's eyes widened, it was a coincidence just a coincidence.

"Sirius," said the heavy voiced man to his right. Harry shook his head, and his breathing became more laboured.

"Lily," said the female voice to his left. Harry calmed his breathing down with difficulty, he couldn't let on that he already knew them.

"James," said the strong male voice also to his left. Harry let his head drop against the wall behind him, muttering a quiet "Oh shit," under his breath. This was too much to take in.

Malfoy had not only taken him back in time, he had taken him back to his parent's time. He wasn't sure when in his parent's time but definitely somewhere before his first birthday. It had to be.

He felt his eyes fill with tears, there were three people in this room he thought he'd never see again and the emotion of it all was overwhelming. He sniffed and blinked back the tears.

"Shhh… it's ok," said Lily softly. He heard her get up and sit next to him. She pulled him closer and held him whilst the tears rolled slowly down his cheeks.

Harry had waited nearly fifteen years to feel her do this again. Of course she had no idea what she was doing meant so much to him. She stroked his hair and then let out a small laugh.

"You're hair is like James'. It doesn't stay put at all does it?"

"No," Harry sniffed before breaking out into a fresh wave of heavy sobbing. She pulled him even closer.

"Shhh…shhh. You're going to be fine." He snuggled his head against her shoulder. He imagined Malfoy's face if he saw him now. The sadistic sneer spread across it, and he shuddered. He was desperate to tell them, but he wasn't sure if he should.

"It's not that," he whispered quietly. Lily pulled him to face her gently.

"Then what?" she enquired softly. Harry found it very difficult to talk to her when he couldn't see her very well at all.

"I don't know if I can tell you," he said quietly. He heard the other people around him moving slightly.

"What do you mean?" said James coming to sit next to Lily. Harry was struggling to find the words.

"I'm from the future," he said. It sounded pathetic even to him so he elaborated slightly.

"I was captured and brought here by a time turner." that sounded a bit better, not like something out of science fiction films. There was silence around him again and Lily pulled him close again.

Harry wasn't sure how long he stayed in this position. He guessed he must have fallen asleep. The room looked a lot brighter now.

He panicked slightly, he could see the people in the room clearly. Luckily they were all asleep. He eased himself out of his mother's arms and sat against the wall thinking quickly.

He sighed and stood up to stretch, he sat down against the other wall to the right next to Sirius. He glanced at their faces, they looked so young. Sirius' face wasn't so wasted anymore, it was like the picture he had of his parent's wedding.

Remus didn't have as many scars running across his face, and he looked quite alert for someone who was asleep.

He glanced at Lily and James and sighed, he'd only ever seen them looking like this in his photo album.

He decided that it wasn't his fault if they saw his face now, he couldn't control the daylight and they were probably going to find out at some point anyway.

He thought bitterly about the way a Death Eater's mind works. Voldemort hadn't paid him a visit yet and he wondered if he would. He rested his arms on his knees and put his head down.

He heard someone stir and from the movement at his side he presumed it was Sirius. He didn't lift his head at all, kept it low waiting for Sirius speak.

"Hey Harry you awake?" Harry nodded quickly and then raised his head slowly.

Sirius' face showed a gradual expression of confusion mixed with amazement. Harry smiled at him weakly. Sirius opened and closed his mouth stupidly before pointing at James' sleeping form. Harry nodded before saying quietly

"Yes I'm his son. I don't know how this is going to affect the future though." Sirius nodded and pulled him into a fierce hug and set him back.

"Don't worry it's not your doing." He looked quickly around his sleeping friends and nudged Remus first.

"Wake up you lot. You're not going to believe this."
James still with his eyes shut muttered sarcastically

"Ohh let me guess we're free," he peeked open an eye at the door.

"No… oh well." He shut his eyes again.

"No James look," mumbled Remus who was now sat next to Sirius looking open mouthed at Harry who could do nothing but sit there.
Remus stood up quickly and pulled Harry to his feet hugging him as he did so.

James' eyes flickered open and he sat up slowly. He glared at Remus but followed Remus' gaze to the new arrival from last night. He sat there dumbstruck.

This boy, Harry, was a complete likeness to him. Same hair, same face, same mouth, same build, same eyes… in fact no… not the same eyes they were Lily's. He opened his mouth to speak but no words came. Sirius grinned at him.

"Prongs meet your son, Harry." James was just goggling at Harry but his face broke suddenly into a wide smile. He scrabbled forwards and hugged Harry tightly. Harry smiled at him when they broke apart.

James was now furiously shaking Lily, she swatted away his hand at first but slowly but surely opened her eyes, stretched and sat up. She looked at James inquisitively who in response just pointed over to Harry. Lily's eyes widened, Harry waved at her a bit pathetically.

"This is my… I mean our son Lily." said James proudly.

Lily nodded numbly before rushing forwards to hug Harry tenderly. Harry returned the hug and glanced into his mother's eyes, they were brimming with tears.

She smoothed his hair down and it popped right back into place. She smiled and Harry could hear quiet laughter coming from Remus, Sirius and James.

"Just like your father," she whispered before kissing him gently on his cheek. James broke the moment with a serious tone.

"Hang on Harry. You said Peter sold your family out to Voldemort." Harry breathed in deeply.

"He did."

James obviously didn't want to hear anymore because he turned and sat back against the far wall. Lily went and sat with him and Harry returned to his place next to Sirius. They were silent for a moment, before Harry frowned slightly.

"This doesn't happen though. From what I know this capture of you lot doesn't happen at all… you just…" he trailed off and bit his lip.

"Something must gave changed," he finished muttering his last line.