1978
The streets of Hogsmeade were unusually quiet. A chill breeze rustled through the village. The sky was grey. Mack and Julie appeared out of nowhere. They stood in the middle of the street. Neither of them said it out loud, but they both thought the same: how did we end up in Hogsmeade?
“Hello there,” a voice called. Mack saw a woman approaching. Her hair was a bright pink, not exactly a colour you forget, and her dark Auror robes flapped slightly as she walked. Her wand was out, but not pointed at them, which was something, at least.
“Who are you?” she asked.
Mack hesitated first. “I… I’m Mack Thomas. And this is Julie Davis,” he said, gesturing to the girl beside him.
The woman frowned. “Thomas and Davis? I’ve heard those names before.”
“Perhaps the question is, who are you?” Julie demanded.
The woman lowered her wand slightly and stepped forward. “It’s alright,” she said. “I’m Nymphadora Tonks. I’m here to help.”
“Wait,” Mack interrupted. “You’re not a professor.”
“No, I’m not,” she replied, glancing between us. “What are you doing out here? Why aren’t you at Hogwarts? Don’t tell me you’ve been running from Umbridge.”
Mack and Julie exchanged looks. “No,” Mack said, a bit carefully. He had no idea who Umbridge was. “We were…”
“Celebrating the Quidditch Cup,” Julie cut in, “What are you doing here? And why are you acting like we’ve done something wrong?” Her eyes narrowed. “Who even is this Umbridge?”
“The Quidditch Cup?” Tonks repeated slowly, like she was piecing something together. “When was this?”
“Last night,” said Mack. “Ravenclaw beat Gryffindor, barely. Everyone was celebrating in the common room. We were just… there. Talking near the fire, I think. And then…”
“And then what?” Tonks prompted.
Mack hesitated. “I don’t remember leaving.” he said.
Julie added. “There was a flash of light. I thought it was someone’s prank spell, but everything went dark. The next thing I knew, we were here, in Hogsmeade.”
Tonks knelt down slightly, her expression softening in a way that sent a chill up Mack´s spine. “Mack,” she said carefully, “Julie… what’s the date?”
Julie rolled her eyes and scoffed. “March 25th, 1978. Why are you asking us that?”
Tonks froze, her face went pale and she looked at them like they´d said something impossible. “It’s not 1978,” she said quietly. “It’s 1996.”
Julie let out a disbelieving laugh.“That’s not funny.”
“It’s not a joke,” Tonks said.
Julie shook her head. “No. No, that’s impossible. We’ve been gone for- what, a few minutes? There is no way.”
Mack looked down at his hands. “Eighteen years?” he whispered.
Julie’s composure cracked for the briefest moment before she crossed her arms defensively. “If that’s true, why don’t we remember?” she asked. “Why does it feel like we just left the common room?”
“That’s what we need to figure out,” Tonks responded, “But first, we need to get you somewhere safe.”
The stone gargoyle slid aside with a grinding noise, revealing the spiral staircase that led to the headmaster’s office. Mack glanced at Julie once, but she was staring ahead, her face unreadable. For once, she didn’t say anything.
When the silence got too heavy, she broke it. “So Dumbledore’s still the headmaster? Guess some things never change.”
Tonks glanced over her shoulder. “He’s still headmaster, yes. Although things have changed. And he’ll want to hear everything you can remember about what happened.”
“Which isn’t much,” Mack muttered, running a hand through his hair.
The staircase stopped, and they stood before the heavy wooden door. Tonks stepped forward and knocked briskly.
“Enter,” came a calm voice from within. Tonks pushed the door open, and the group stepped inside.
It was Albus Dumbledore himself who drew their attention. He stood behind his desk, and looked exactly as always: flowing blue robes, half-moon glasses, and piercing blue eyes that seemed to see straight through everyone.
“Mack Thomas. Julie Davis,” he said warmly “It has been far too long.”
Far too long, the words kept on repeating in Mack´s mind. They sat down as he gestured to the chairs in front of the desk.
“It’s true, then?” Mack asked after a moment. “What she said? We’ve been gone for…” His voice caught. “...eighteen years?”
Dumbledore’s gaze softened. “I am afraid so. Your disappearance in 1978 caused great concern. Efforts were made to find you, but as the years passed, many feared the worst.”
Julie leaned forward, her dark eyes fixed on Dumbledore. “Then where have we been? Because we don’t remember anything. We were in the Ravenclaw common room, and then… nothing. And suddenly, we’re in Hogsmeade, being told we’ve missed nearly two decades of our lives.”
“That is the question we must answer,” Dumbledore said thoughtfully. “Your lack of memory suggests powerful magic at work. You were not simply missing; you were… displaced.”
“Displaced?” Mack repeated.
“Out of time,” Dumbledore clarified.
Julie let out a sharp breath. “And what? We just dropped back into reality by accident?”
Tonks, who had been leaning against a nearby bookshelf, straightened up. “What about the night you disappeared? Is there anything you remember?”
Mack and Julie exchanged a look. “We were celebrating in the common room,” Mack said slowly. “Ravenclaw had just won the Quidditch Cup. Everyone was there.”
Julie nodded. “I’d gone up to congratulate him. We weren’t exactly best mates, but…” She hesitated, then added, “I wanted to escape my lot for a while. Barty and the others were getting on my nerves.”
At the mention of Barty Crouch Jr., Dumbledore’s expression darkened ever so slightly, but he said nothing.
“We were talking near the fire,” Mack finished. “And then… nothing. It’s like someone snapped their fingers and cut the memory off.”
Tonks spoke up again. “Albus, could this be linked to… well, recent events?”
Dumbledore inclined his head. “It is possible.”
Mack glanced at Julie. “What happens to us now?”
Dumbledore’s expression softened. “For now, I will send you to a safe place. We must unravel the mystery of your disappearance before deciding on the next steps. Rest assured, you are safe there.”
“You’ll tell us if you find anything?” asked Julie.
Dumbledore smiled gently. “Of course. You have my word.”