Chapter 1
"You're certain that's finely grounded fairy wings?" Remus hissed, looking at the dust in James' hand.
"I'm positive Rem. Look, says right here on the package" James pointed at the bag he had just gotten it from. Remus moved creakily to take the package with a sigh to double check. As he was picking it up, James dumped the entire handful into the bubbling cauldron.
"JAMES" Remus yelled, turning around as the cauldron started to rattle.
"What?" James asked as he backed away, glancing nervously at Sirius who was doing look out. The silver-eyed boy poked his head out from behind the tapestry.
"It says time sand coated fairy wings dust" Remus moaned. Peter ran into the room in a panic, bowling over Sirius.
"Pete?"
"She's...she's coming" Peter panted, untangling from Sirius. The cauldron continued to rattle harder and the mixture within was glowing slightly.
"Shit, what do we do? That's a ticking time bomb and we're about to be caught!" James whispered fiercely.
"Caught doing what, Potter?" Lily Evans shoved aside the tapestry. Peter finally gave into his panic and turned into his other form to scurry into Remus' pocket.
"Not the time, Evans! James just put an extremely reactive ingredient into our cauldron and we need to fix it immediately!" Remus snarled, grabbing a stirring stick and trying to calm the glow of the mixture by stirring. Lily gasped and ran to look over the ingredients, muttering under her breath.
"It's too late, brace for impact!" James yelled, pulling Remus away from the cauldron. Sirius joined a heartbeat later, pulling Lily down too. James, Sirius, Lily, and Remus stumbled over one another in an attempt to get away from the light, Peter squeaking loudly in Remus' pocket. Then with a pop, the cauldron, the potion, the ingredients, and all of the notes were gone and a cloud of dust flew up around the teenagers as they hit the floor.
"Well that explains how expensive those fairy wings were!" James tried for light heartedness as they all tried to catch their breath. The others groaned, shoving each other. When they finally staggered to their feet, each took in the differences in the room.
"Did...did Hogwarts move where we were so we didn't get hurt?" Sirius asked shakily.
"Can she do that?" Lily glanced over at the boys. The two pure-bloods nodded while Remus shrugged. "Well then, I nominate Potter to figure out where we are"
"Wha-why me?!" James sputtered.
"You bought the fairy wings, you discover where we ended up" Sirius stated matter-of-factly. Remus and Lily nodded along, so James stomped out from behind the tapestry. Into the exact same corridor he had been in not even an hour ago.
"We have a problem. We're in the same spot..." he turned towards his friends who all looked bewildered as James felt. Remus opened his mouth when;
"Har, mate, I swear to Merlin, why are you in the corridors past curfew?" A voice echoed behind James. He whirled around to see a lanky red-head ambling towards him. The other boy stopped once he fully took in James. "Wait. You're not Harry. Who are you?"
"What, don't recognize James Potter the star of the quidditch team?" Sirius asked, stepping away from the alcove. The red head paled, stumbling back a few steps.
"OI, 'MIONE, WE GOT A SITUATION" He yelled back down the corridor. A girl sprinted around the corner, her prefect badge clearly pinned to her chest.
"What kind of situation. Potter luck, toad, or misbehavior?" She asked, focused entirely on the tall boy.
"Uh, Potter luck for sure. Misbehavior is assumed, but-" he broke off in gestures to the four students who had fully emerged. The girl also paled.
"...Am I to assume you are, in order, James Potter, Sirius Black, Lily Evans, and Remus Lupin?" She asked after taking a few breathes to collect herself. Each of the four nodded. "Great. Wonderful. My name is Hermione Granger, and that is Ron Weasley. We are the fifth year Gryffindor prefects. I'm afraid this is something we're kicking up the chain so follow me"
They hurried after her when she set off at a march down towards the deputy headmistress' office.
"Yes, Ms. Granger? To what do I...oh my heavens" McGonagall answered her door after a few knocks "I... see why you came to me. Come in all of you. Mr. Weasley, please go fetch the headmaster. The password is currently Ice Mice"
"On it professor!" Weasley sprinted off as the rest filed in. Hermione sniffed and stood near the door, peering down the corridor. To James' surprise, McGonagall didn't protest the position, simply turning her attention to the time travelers.
"So. I do not know how much you know, so I will start from the beginning. You have travelled to September 11th, 1995. Two of you are alive still, and I will notify them of your arrival here. I'm not entirely sure if you truly travelled through time or if you're copies, so I will avoid bringing those two here until we know for sure"
"They're imprints or copies of a sort. Sirius and Remus have stated no memory of this before, and the time line is a closed loop" Granger chimed in.
"Yes, thank you, Ms. Granger" McGonagall nodded "I do not know how long you four will be here, I assume you'll have to continue attending as if you had never travelled. Professor-"
"Harry James, I thought we told you not to leave the common room" Granger suddenly interrupted.
"Wormtail showed up on the map alongside Sirius and Remus and... and I needed to make sure he hadn't.. and then you guys joined the names" A disembodied voice came from the hallway.
"And you don't trust us to know what we're doing? He's likely in one of their pockets and it's not the same one. This one is our age and assumedly has yet to do that. We'll be fine. McGonagall is right here, and the headmaster is on his way so you need to shoo" She argued back.
"You promise?"
"Duh. Now go" She made a shooing motion and glanced back towards the occupants of the office "Is Pettigrew here too?"
"Yes. He's in my pocket" Remus pointed at the slightly protruding breast pocket where a rat's head popped out. The girl's chocolate eyes went frigid as she saw it before she smoothed out her expression. James had a bad feeling about her and the person she called Harry's reactions to his friend. Pete was as trustworthy as they come, why would two people have such distrust for someone they've probably never met? But they had used Sirius and Remus' names when the person he couldn't see never entered the room. James' thoughts continued to spiral until someone elbowed him in the side.
"Huh?" He looked around.
"Jamie, we've been calling your name for a full minute without a response" Siri told him.
"Indeed Mr. Potter. We cannot continue without you" Headmaster Dumbledore smiled gently. The two prefects behind the group hissed something to each other.
"Of course professor, apologies, it's been a crazy hour" James grinned awkwardly.
"Of course my boy. Now, I believe Professor McGonagall was saying you'd continue as you are. Though I will ask a few of you to change names. Mr. Lupin, we can either change your first or your last name. I will warn you though that your older self is known to be a werewolf so your last name is a bit risky"
"I will change my last name then. I'd prefer my secret not be so freely known" Remus gave a tired smile "Perhaps I'll take my mother's maiden name of Howell. I'll have no issue passing as muggleborn"
"A wise decision Mr. Howell. Next, Mr. Black. I'm afraid your older self is a fugitive so you will face the same choice" Dumbledore turned his attention to the next boy.
"Oh. Uh. I guess change my first name? I can masquerade as a lost cousin"
"How about Leo then. It's a star name to keep in line with your family's naming scheme, while also being something a muggle would name their child" McGonagall jumped in.
"Leo works. So Leo Black" Sirius shrugged.
"Finally, Mr. Pettigrew and Mr. Potter. Your first names are fine but I'm afraid both of you are too well known to keep your last name. Ms. Evans can just say her full name is Lillian and it's a coincidence she shares a last name with her adult self" Dumbledore continued genially.
"I'll be James Patel. If anyone connects me to my cousins, so be it" James said immediately. The adults nodded. Peter the rat climbed out of the pocket he had been curled in, jumping to the floor before transforming back.
"I suppose I can be Peter Jones? I think it's a common enough surname" He wrung his hands as he offered the name.
"That will do. I will have the sorting hat resort you now, just to be safe" Dumbledore offered the old hat to the first in line. Each of them put it on and received Gryffindor once more. "Excellent! I'll have Mr. Weasley and Ms. Granger escort you to the common room. The elves should have you all set. I'm uncertain if you'll be sharing a dorm room with the other boys, but Ms. Evans certainly will be with the fifth year girls! I'll see if I can't get someone to escort you shopping tomorrow"
"Let's go. I have to do some corrections to one of my essays before bed" Weasley waved them onwards, his prefect partner staying silent beside him. "Password is currently Mimbletus Mimbletonia. Nev's thrilled bout it, he has his potted one up in our dorm room. So don't poke the cactus, you'll get stink sap everywhere. That's assuming the four of you are bunking with us five. Anyways, through this passage and then we'll be to the portrait"
"Students out after curfew?" Said portrait asked when she spotted them.
"Of a sort Lady Elizabeth" Granger spoke once more "These are Lillian Evans, Leo Black, Peter Jones, Remus Howell, and James Patel. They just arrived to join the fifth year class"
"Bit late isn't it?" She received several nods "Well, nothing to do about it now. At least it'll draw attention away from poor Harry. Poor boy has enough on his plate lately"
"Our thoughts exactly. Anyways, Mimbletus Mimbletonia if you would" Weasley requested. The lady nodded and swung open. Each of the students climbed through to the red-themed common room. After a few steps, a black-haired blur collided with the Weasley kid, who stumbled back only a single step as he caught what turned out to be a short boy. A boy that looked extremely familiar to James.
"Told you we'd be fine Harry. Now, did four beds appear in your dorm room?" Granger sighed, patting the wild curls.
"I haven't checked. Was too worried about you guys" The disembodied voice suddenly had an appearance to match. Assumedly-a-Potter pulled his face away from his friend's shoulder to reveal striking green eyes. James could only stare in shock at the near mirror to his own features.
"Am I hallucinating or does Jamie have a twin?" Peter's voice knocked James out of his narrowminded focus. He blinked a few times as he realized his eyes were dry. The unnamed boy (that James was 99% certain was a Potter cause that was the curse hair) stepped a bit in front of his friends at Peter's voice.
"No. This is Harry, our other best friend" Ron placed a steadying hand on Harry's shoulder. Just like in the hallway, the black haired boy seemed on edge around the rat animagus.
"Siri-" Sirius began to introduce himself before Remus stomped hard on his foot.
"This is Leo, I'm Remus. I'm assuming you know James? And the other two are Lily and Peter" He took over introductions immediately.
"Nice to meet you" Harry dipped his head briefly "I will go look if you're with us". He turned to press foreheads briefly with Weasley before repeating it with Granger. He then slid through the gathering crowd to the boy's staircase.
"Oi, you lot, don't crowd! They aren't animals in a zoo! They just arrived and they're new Gryffs, so you have time to get to know them later! I'll fully introduce them and then all of you need to scram, 'kay?" Weasley shooed the nearest students back a few steps. "So! First of all is Leo Black. No, he is not closely related to the fugitive. Turns out there was a cousin that got casted out a couple generations ago and this Black is his descendant. Next to him is Remus Howell, then Peter Jones is next to Lillian Evans. She has no relation to the famous Lily Evans, just happens to share a name which is common in the muggle world, or so I'm told. Finally is James Patel. Any questions?"
"Why are they starting now?" A sandy-haired boy asked.
"Ah, right. Thanks Colin, I knew I forgot something. I believe their former school was destroyed and they had to take up the offer they got years ago from Hogwarts. Special circumstances. Dumbledore approved, of course" The last words were said slightly sarcastically.
"What Ron is forgetting is that their school happened to be hit by a series of bombs, or bombardas. Professors were vague about which it was" Granger chimed in with a shrug "They'll be fifth years too".
"In a different dorm luckily!" Harry called from where he was perched on the back of a chair.
"Harry James you know better than to perch on chairs!" Granger scolded as the crowd parted for her to storm over to the smaller boy. He laughed and leapt away from the girl who was chasing after him. To James' surprise, none of the departing crowd acted like this was abnormal. If anything, there were fond smiles and head shakes.
"You want some help catching your mate?" Sirius asked Weasley.
"No, no, 'Mione's got it covered. You can call me Ron by the way. There's four of us Weasleys around currently. There's my older twin brothers Fred and George, who are oddly missing...that's a problem for later. Then there's me, and then my younger sister Ginny. She's the one over there talking to Colin" He pointed at the pair who were quietly chatting in the corner.
"Catch me!" Harry yelled, dive-bombing for his friend. Ron just opened his arms with a deep laugh, grabbing hold before the energetic teenager could continue onwards. Granger slowed to a stop by their side with her hair crackling with magic. She gave a large put upon sigh before leaning against the two entwined boys. The quiet moment felt private but James didn't look away.
"Anyways, I'll take you up to our dorm Lily. The boys will have to rely on either my best friends' guidance or finding their own way" Granger beckoned the red head to follow her, which Lily did happily. The two boys separated and the shorter waved them on.
"You're on the same landing, just the opposite side if that's alright with you" Harry said softly, darting up the stairs. Ron followed closely with a big yawn. Sirius followed first, keeping some distance between him and the others. The other three climbed quickly after. When they reached the landing labelled with a glowing 5 between two doors, they stopped.
"We're in here. I assume the new door is yours" Ron said, pushing open the door on the right. Harry was first through the gap, only giving a nod of acknowledgement. "Good night. Harry and Hermione will be in the common room at the very least when you come down. I'll be hit or miss but those two can get you set until I'm there" Ron then entered and closed the door behind him. The Marauders entered the door on the left.
"Did you notice how skittish that Harry kid was when we were coming up the stairs?" Sirius asked lowly of James.
"No, not really. I just assumed he wanted to get to bed already" James shrugged.
"I did. Ron was covering his back without making it obvious" Remus chimed in, having overheard.
"Honestly, I'm more concerned about the fact we travelled twenty years because of a cauldron explosion!" Peter interrupted.
"It'll be fine Pete! We have the chance to check out a whole new group of girls with no fear of it being creepy!" Sirius flopped on a bed with a smirk.
"But I have no idea when the moon is next. Which means everyone here is in danger" Remus realized suddenly.
"Lemme check!" James bounded over to the window, finding the moon easily. He compared it briefly to his memory of the night before. "We should be good. Looks like the full was yesterday or the day before. There's a sliver of darkness on the right side"
"Oh thank Merlin" Remus breathed out a long sigh.
"Yeah, yeah, thank Merlin. Now can we go to sleep? I need time to process this before we face an entire school population" Sirius whined from where he was spread eagle on the bed.
"Yes Siri. Let's all change into the night clothes the elves left and get some sleep" James nodded, scooping up the pile that look like his size. And immediately threw it at Remus instead when he saw how long the pants were. Remus simply sighed, checked the sizing and turned to put them on. Peter just turned into a rat and slipped under the pillows on his claimed bed. James sighed, summoned the pajamas and put them on. Then he crawled into bed facing the shared dorm wall. As he lay there, he traced over the memory face of Harry. The eyes were obviously different, as was the branching lightning scar across one side of his forehead (which looked irritated, maybe he was itching at it?). But now that he ran it over in his mind, so was the slope of his mouth. And his cheeks were almost recovering from being hollowed out. James filed it away behind his occlumency shields. Now was not the time for such examinations.