Chapter 1
Ezra let out a deep sigh… what felt like the hundredth one in the last hour…
"Yes Jerry, the Affogato has coffee. It is a Scoop of ice cream with a shot of espresso poured over the top," she said, keeping up her friendly smile despite wanting to hit this monster upside the head. Tightly gripping the golden ring around her neck to help stave off the frustration…
Jerry was unfortunately a regular and he gave good tips… unfortunate as she didn’t have many customers much less Regulars here. "Espresso? That doesn’t sound like any coffee I know…" jerry said snidely, rolling his eyes as he began typing a review about it already…
"Sir, all coffee names and types come from Italian. Affogato, Espresso, Galao, Americano… An Espresso is in short, a distilled coffee that is a couple of ounces. Thus; When we make an Affogato we pour a shot or two of espresso over the Ice Cream," she explained as simply as she could, "Most places like Starbuck will make Coffee by steaming milk and mixing a shot or two of Espresso into it. I however am an Artistry Coffee Barista. Therefore I only use Shots of Espresso when they actually make sense."
Jerry scoffed, "Just give me a Double Shot Iced Pumpkin Spice Latte then. Half Oatmilk Half Cream, shaken not stirred. And don’t you dare put any of that Cream on it! Just the Powdered whatever you put on it."
And she made just that. Hoping that Jerry will leave once he has his favorite drink. He ordered the exact same thing every day without fail. No matter how many times he Asked about other items on her menu…
She had to order many extra bottles of the flavor because of his picky ass self…
The things she does for her Regulars…
Stars above…
"Of course Sir!~ Why don’t you take a seat while I make it?~" she cooed with an overly sweet smile.
Jerry waved dismissively as he went to his seat. Typing his latest review on his phone.
Last she checked he only had three followers…
His Mother…
King Asgore "Fluffybuns" Dremurr…
And someone named Papyrus…?
After serving up the drink she went back to clean behind her counter. Washing the cups used to make his highly specific order.
Not expecting to hear the door flung open, ringing wildly… and for a rather tall lanky Monster to look around the room… and collapse… The smell of her lavender bushes filled the café as it does every time the door is opened.
"hehe… sorry fer my bro… Lavender really ah…" a smaller stockier Skeleton offered. This one was dressed in casual baseball shorts, a white shirt and a blue and grey hoodie. "Makes him hit snooze," he hummed.
Behind him a near identical monster yet dressed in a stark white outfit pipped up, "you could say… It really saved his Daylight hours~" the only spot of color on him was the vivid color of an Expelliarmus. Huh…
Why did that scarf bring that spell to mind?
She hadnt used magic in… what… five years now?
Maybe a little here and there when she gets exotic ingredients or handles her pet Thestral… The bloody vicious flying horse that has been haunting her since the incident she rode it to the Ministry and back…
Said Horse that has murdered and eaten every single assassin since then…
Yeah she wasn’t gonna mess with it…
Not encoraging that behavior…
Not telling it off…
And maaaybe putting an illusion on it so that any Magical customers coming in won't see it either…
Apparently Monsters can see Thestrals? Who knew?
Well… monsters that have seen death with their own eyes…
She blinked a couple times when one of the skeletons snapped in front of her face to break her out of her mental spiraling… "Apologies. You… reminded me of someone I knew…" she offered, thinking of the twins… "May I please take your orders?"
Okay for some reason…
After those first three skeletons the flood gates seem to have been opened. Skeletons just showed up at random for drinks and the good company. Enjoying the ambiance of her little Moonlit Café. Although most of the skeletons preferred the Star Room upstairs… Not too surprising considering they lived underground and didn’t know what the sky looked like until what… last year?
Her most regular customer was that White and red skeleton but…
Eventually…
She noticed…
Something following him…
A Black bird… A Crow perhaps?
The bird seemed to only perch on metal or plastic things. Careful not to touch anything alive…
Watching from a distance…
Occasionally Geno, as he introduced himself, would have a fellow skeleton with him that looked like a Lab worker. Minty green shirt, long white pants and Lab coat… and… Slippers. White slippers…
Slippers that were used by Geno to be "yeeted" at idiots.
Usually Jerry or that sharp toothed skeleton…
But thrown with force none the less.
She saw him knock out Honey and Cash at a hundred paces with a single slipper once. The duo were trying to not pay for their drinks…
It was a calm night…
The rain fell outside with a rhythm…
Geno was asleep at his usual Booth. Papers scattered about him… Four empty mugs around him…
Stars he was overworking himself again…
The door opened and she saw a new skeleton enter. He was a bit shorter than the average skeletons, with fancy yellow and blue garments… a Flag around his shoulders with a salmon pink clasp in the middle…
Atop his head was a golden crown…
A crown the same shade as the Metal loop around her neck.
"Welcome to the Moonlit Observatory," she hummed brightly, "How may I serve you today?"
The Yellow skeleton blinked a couple times as he stared at her… well…
His eyes were a little further down…
The eyelights winking out…
And he Collapsed…
Out cold…
"Okay why does that keep happening when Skeletons first come here?" she grumbled as she walked over and had her thestral drag the skeleton to the fainting couch by the Fire Place.
And gave the Thestral a rather bloody steak for its help. Patting its back a bit.
"Could you move Geno to his usual couch when you're done eating?" she asked, patting the Death Horse.
It just whinnied a bit as it eagerly ate the steak.
She hoped it would do what she asked but there was no guarantee with him…
Ah well…
He'll just wake up sore tomorrow if the moody horse doesn't…
Okay who is this goopy ass skeleton and why is he demanding she hands over her treasure?
This annoying skeleton appeared shortly after a perma-crying Black tears skeleton tried to rob her.
And got a Petrificus Totalus before Geno kicked the idiot out…
Now there's this goopy one eyed Squid trying to tell her to hand over her golden necklace…
"Sir, I cannot remove this necklace. At all," she said plainly, "now will you be ordering anything to drink or eat? We have a lovely selection."
"I Want What Is Mine," hissed the skeleton, pointing at her necklace, "Hand It Over!"
She huffed and took out a vial of blood she kept in a hidden spot under the counter. Popping off the lid and just…
Waiting…
Within thirty second the thestral came in and grabbed the goopy skeleton by the hood and draaaaagged him out.
Not even a full twenty four hours passed before someone else came asking about the necklace. A little hooded skeleton that smelled of death and decay…
"My boss wants your crown," the little skeleton said, eyes remaining on her as she washed the dishes.
"I cant give it to him," she hummed, "nor do I want to. Would you like a drink?"
He hesitated a moment before asking, "Tripple shot mocha?"
"Alright," she hummed, "And do tell your boss to stop? I don’t want to give up my treasure."
He didn’t reply, just watching…
And she was alright with that. Not the first one that just stares at her… it was amongst the top three ways these skeletons wait for their drinks… Staring, waiting upstairs, or going to a booth to work on whatever project they have…
"Im Ezra," she hummed, "the Owner of this Lovely Café… and you might be?"
The little skeleton looked away, "Murder…"
She tilted her head, "Murder?"
He nodded in affirmation.
"Alright, I hope you come again," she offered as she set his drink on the outgoing counter.
Okay something is eating her trash…
It was the third day she had noticed it…
Someone keeps stealing her bags of stale pastries…
The bag was always gone by morning…
And the Trash was taken four days ago so it cant be them…
So who in seven bloody hells was stealing her trash???
And breaking her Locks to do it!!!
"Beeeeaaaasssstttt!" she called out.
Her Thestral perked up from the latest raccoon it had been devouring, the tail sticking out of its mouth.
"I need you to watch the trash tonight," she said, "and if you do… I'll… get a whole cow for you!"
It trotted over eagerly, scratching its hooves on the ground. Making happy hissing chitters.
"Just watch and scare off anything that comes for the trash," she instructed.
It flared its wings as it reared up and let out a battle cry…
then plopped down to take a nap next to the trash can…
She blinked a couple times…
"woooow… I feel so safe," she deadpanned.
Later that night she heard clattering and the loud whiney of an angry Beast…
Poking her head out the window she was her Thestral staring down a…
Was that a skeleton?
It looked a skeleton but…
It had a hole in the skull…
And wore puffy fur…
A large axe was leaning against the wall nearby…
But instead of using the axe the skeleton was on all four, growling and glaring down the Thestral…
Okay why does she get Feral dog vibes from that???
Rushing down wearing only a Bath robe as she went down.
The stare down was still in progress when she got there. Her thestral standing over the trash bag full of stake pastries… the Skeleton growling angrily, all puffed up as he tried to scare off Beast…
"Okay then… lets ah…" She crouched down and picked up the trash bag. A Single red eye following her the whole time…
She looked to the Skeleton and held out the trash bag… slowly backing into her café…
Watching as it followed her inside…
Threw the Bag into her walk in freezer and shut it as the skeleton rushed in! Locking the door quickly so the skeleton cant escape…
Skeletons can teleport so she had no clue if it would stay in there until morning…
Taking out her phone she gave a call to Geno…
"heeeey… I know I didn’t wake you at an hour like this considering how fervent you are working… I need your heeeelllllpppp…" she said simply as soon as Geno picked up…
Not at all surprised to hear the popping of his shortcut as he appeared right next to her…
She pointed at the freezer, "Feral Dog Skellie," she said plainly.
"Is it mutt on Dog biscuits ooor…?" he asked nervously… Hes seen that lanky skeleton going feral before and it was not pretty…
"Aaaah… No… that just takes a bucket of water…" she said softly, scratching her neck nervously, "this one truly… acted like a feral dog. Chased a bag of stale pastries into the freezer and everything…"
A couple blinks as Geno tried to process that…
"A… Feral…" he unlocked the freezer and peaked at the Monster now curled around its prize…
Well shit…
This…
This isnt good…
"That’s Horror… Oh stars above and below that’s… that’s Horror Sans… The Horror… Oh stars you're lucky to be alive Ezzy…" Geno muttered terrified. Closing it back up and locking that Ah… that danger away…
"Well at least I have a name to put to him now…" grumbled the Barista, "what do we do about him…?"
"Ah… Satiate his appetite?" Geno offered, "his Boss is ah… Rather dangerous… doesn’t usually send Horror for much unless he wants a person…" he made a slice across his neck.
A soft sigh in annoyance… okay so Geno didn’t have any real idea how to get Horror to stop…
Okay what to do…
This Horror is hungry…
His bones looked thin for his size…
According to Geno… Horror is dangerous…
Okay…
Beast is a hungry dangerous creature…
Just treat Horror like Beast until she has a better idea.
"Im going to go try something," she offered as she went to check her potion supplies… Skele-Gro…
Lets see…
Chinese Chomping cabbage…
The Puffer-fish are in the freezer…
Some Scarab beetles…
A Fanged Geranium…
An arm bone…
A red spider…
If she went with the old Linfred recipe it would probably be better for a skeleton… He was around when monsters last were…
Hmmm…
"I'll be alright… If you take your usual spot I'll have your usual out to you in a few," she offered. Trying to make sure he didn’t find out she's well…
She can't afford to let her little secret get out…
Closing up all the windows and doors…
Locking what she needs to…
Getting some batter in the mixer to add the potion to later…
And off to chop up some highly vicious Cabbages…
By the time she got to bringing Geno his drink, the skellie was already out cold like usual…
Oh the wonders of having magically enhanced lavender~
Especially considering how little sleep Geno usually gets…
Stars that skeleton…
Always up for giving her a heart attack…
And dialing up her stress levels immensely…
Ah well…
In for a penny in for a pound…
She couldn’t imagine her shop without the Skeletons anymore…
It was an oddly familiar sensation…
Time reversing… Flipping back in a dangerous way… Almost like a Time Turner but you have no control over it…
Harry Ezra had no doubt there was times that time reset before he she was aware…
Always back to the same point…
Fifteen years…
He She managed to live an amazing life for fifteen years this time…
Stars… Merlin…?
Mmm…
She prefers stars…
Sounded much better than Merlin and Morgana…
Stars above she hated being taken back to second year again and again… Especially this specific moment.
Facing down this gorgeous basilisk and never being able to… convince it to stop…
"I Don’t want to fight you!" She cried out like so many times before. Hearing her own voice so… so not her. This was the voice of Harry the Boy who Lived… Not Ezra the Barista…
"I must Kill you… My master Demands it so!" the serpent hissed, swaying side to side. Unable to see but able to hear just well after Fawks ripped out its eyes.
"Don’t you think its weird that your master is alive? Its been hundreds of years since that day he hid you down here! Humans don’t live that long even magical ones!" she insisted.
"My master speaks to me in the ancient tongue… He knows that which sets me free… How can you deny that these are true?" it hissed, suddenly snapping forward to strike.
"Oh right! Like praising himself is such a secret password!" Ezra snapped as she dodged to the side. Cursing how inflexible and weak this body is after years of abuse…Your current master is just a Spirit that’s haunting a poor little girl's body! And not even that well! Hes draining her soul away just so he can steal her life!" she grumbled bitterly. Unafraid to speak her mind.
She's dealt with this situation long enough that she knew it wont be too long before time reverses again. The beginning always Reboots frequently... Something about the one reversing time seems to struggle the first year or two... Not her first time through...
And she couldn’t dodge it forever unfortunately… the serpent managing to get a cut in on her arm… Stars the venom… useful in her system as it erodes away all the Potions flowing through her… annoying in that after this point she is rendered near immune to all potions…
Even the beneficial ones…
Needing near fatal douses just to feel the effects…
Stars she hates her Hogwarts years…
Hates all the things she missed the first time around as Harry… How many times she's had to relive all this…
And only after Harry obtained the three hollows all in the same timeline did she start remembering the resets…
Started remembering all the shit she's been through…
Voldemort and his plans…
Dumbledore and his Greater Good…
Harry having to marry Ginny after the Marriage Law was passed… Even after transitioning…
Even after fleeing to another country…
Harry has to die so Ezra could live…
Maybe she could try a different name this time…
Ezra was well enough but all the anime jokes were a bit exhausting…
Oh… oh stars the monsters…
The skeletons…
The last timeline she had lived the longest and got to see them coming to the surface…
Got to open her café in Ebbot City before they came to the surface even…
The first and only monster friendly café in the city…
Heh…
The things you think about when you're bleeding out and dying from Venom huh…?
When she finally fell unconscious, she dreamed of all the fun times she had at her café… all the chaos… the DnD nights after hours… Paps always passing out just as he gets inside… Vanilla Bean having to help his brother home…
Blue and his Taco Tuesdays… Dream coming in on his bad days just for a homey comfort… the feral cats that would haunt her back door and steal Beast's leftovers…
Light filled her eyes as Harry woke… slowly sitting up and cradling their head… It was a familiar pain if rather annoying…
Her neck stung in the way it normally did when people tried to remove her precious treasure…
Dumb as a Door probably tried to remove it and add a tracking charm again…
Looking around the bed was surrounded with get well soon cards and gifts… Even a toilet seat apparently… Didn’t the twins do that one? She thinks it was them…
Sometimes it was hard to remember these early days…
Others she could remember in vivid detail…
"Ah! Mister Potter!" madam Poppy said sternly as she bustled over to check her wounds…
She looked at the Nurse with hazy eyes, close to tears… "Miss Poppy?" she asked softly. Remembering the nurse well. Having been here time and time again…
"That’s right, how are you feeling? Everything in place? No memory haze or blanks?" Poppy asked, turning Harry's face this way and that. Squeezing their chin too hard to let them speak…
Eventually Poppy realized her error and let go…
"I… I'm okay…" Harry offered, knowing mentioning their Gender Identity too soon would make for trouble in the future… Mentioning anything that would contradict the potions Dumbledore doused her with would go poorly as well…
Just have to follow the story…
And hope for no time reversals…
Maybe she could look into temporal magic again and see if there is anything to be done?
Wouldn’t be too bad an idea…
The skeletons kept mentioning the Void and Anomaly… Something about the Ambassador…
Hmmm…
"Can I… have a book?" they asked of Poppy.
"Oh! Ah… yes… What kind of book would you like?" Poppy offered.
"Um… Ancient Magic… If its not too much trouble," she asked. Having meant to look into it in the next timeline but was too busy planning her escape from the Magical World. This time…
This time she would ensure she stays free.
And that there will not be another next time.
"That is not the safest option…" Poppy said dubiously…
"I heard reference to it before in Mister Binn's class… It sounds rather interesting…" she said meekly. A Hand going up to grip the edge of her metal circlet… its presence reassuring and warm to the touch…
"Oh… Oh that silly ghost," Poppy hissed in annoyance. Storming off to give him a piece of her mind about all that goblin war flim flam!
But…
When she came back she indeed held a book on forms of Ancient Magic.
The book kept Harry occupied until Dumbledore inevitably came in to tell his narrative of what happened down in the chamber of secrets…
And to keep it a secret even if everyone knew…
Trying to save his own ass from the papers again it seems…
Ah well…
She could do this…
Just have to get through the narrative again…
It was as annoying this time as the last fifty run throughs…
Third year with Sirius black, the man doomed to die a Burdened man…
Remus Lupin the doomed father of Teddy…
The rat who dies serving a horrible master…
Fourth Year was the first one she liked to truly go off script. Not accepting Ron or Hermione back into her close circle… Neither deserve it… Not after what they will do and what they have done…
Fifth Year it was the year of the Toad…
Sixth it was the year to learn about Voldemort…
Dumbledore took more interest in her this year but she did her best to keep him at arms length…
Seventh she was supposed to go Horcrux hunting but… well…
She paid the goblins to do it for her.
Instead she went hunting for the Ancient Magic Repository she read about… Eventually finding a way underground where she could find it… Tunnels dug using large machines she needed to clear to go down below… Eventually finding a large… Metal cage filled with swirling magic…
It was screaming with pain and regrets… the darkness of many people swirled within it…
And it made her necklace humm. As if resonating with the darkness within…
A mere touch and the content surged through her. Flowing straight into her soul…
Cries of pain filled the air before she passed out, overwhelmed by it all…
When she awoke, Harry could still feel all the pain in her body… and a familiar Thestral laying next to her. Covered in blood…
"Hey Beast…" she cooed softly, patting its side.
Hair fell into her face, a deep dark color with cyan tips…
Odd…
Did the ancient magic change her?
Or…
Was it the way the magic interacted with her necklace? The pain didn’t start until the magic flow up to that point…
A single word floated around her mind…
Corruption…
Odd…
The books said nothing about this sort of effect…
Although one she didn’t think was true at the time mentioned ancient magic turning a Goblin into a Dragon…
"Can you get us out of here?" she asked softly as she shifted to lay on its back. Holding on as tightly as her weak arms could manage…
Noting how her hands and part of her arms were stained black now…
Wasn’t the worst thing that could happen…
Especially when time reset right at that moment…
Only…
This time she felt as she was pulled through murky blackness before reaching the past…
Seeing a white cracked face as she fell through…
Back into…
That moment with the snake…
"Okay seriously?" she grumbled softly, looking between the blinded Basilisk and the ghost of Tom Riddle. Yet…
Lifting a hand she saw…
Her arm was black again…?
Stained a deep black…
That…
That shouldn't…
Nothing carries over between these Temporal shifts…
Nothing but her memories…
So…
How?
How was she still…?
"This… shouldn’t…" she muttered, only to be attacked by the snake in that moment… Its fang sunk into her extended arm…
Through the black and…
It…
Didn’t hurt?
No… it really didn’t hurt…
A little sting but not the searing pain of the venom… more like a bee sting almost…
The Snake let go and reeled back to "Watch her die", even fawks flew over to see the damage…
But…
It didn’t leave a visible hole in her arm much less a mark…
"Fawks," she muttered softly, pulling in the annoying bird to cuddle. Something shes always wanted to do but avoided in every reset because the bird was on fire…
Yet the fire didn’t hurt…
Just felt warm…
Even said bird looked surprised. Crying a little as it nuzzled her. Thinking she wanted comfort as she dies it seems…
Ans she pulled a feather out, much to its indignation!
The phoenix squaked and flew off to morn the loss of its lovely feather…
A feather she used a hardening charm on and threw at Riddle's diary to end the spirit. Watching as it burst into flames and burned to ashes. Good…
At least Fawks Feathers still work to kill Horcruxes…
Slowly getting to her feet she noticed her balance off… Mostly due to the mass of hair now growing from her head. Far longer and fuller than it once was… All ending with cyan…
Well this is different…
Usually her hair is the fiery red of her Mother…
And it was usually short, about chin length…
Often getting mistaken for a Weasley, even if her hair is… was… more vivid in hue…
Now though…
At least it'll make her less likely of a candidate for marrying Ginny… Hopefully… Maybe? Probably?
Stars she was hoping that this was a sign of times changing for her…
Like usual she was Hospital Wing bound… but for a slightly different reason than usual…
This time because of what Poppy calls…
"Magical Backlash"…
Dumbledore seems convinced her Blackened hands are because of destroying the Notebook…
She wouldn’t correct him. Made thing easier and makes him doubt the path she's being sent on…
With a sigh, Harry planned things out…
This timeline will be different…
This… Ancient magic she absorbed seems to have carried over since the last timeline, adapting her body… Seeming to have grown the hair out for extra storage space…
Her Necklace is still in place and just as irremovable as usual… Still that lovely gold with its moon cut out in the front…
The hair would take some getting used to, but braiding should help…
She needs to set up her escape…
The goblins were rather nice last time around as long as she paid for their help…
Just need to be specific about what she needs…
That is a future Harry Problem…
And she still needs to think about a name…
What's a good name for when she leaves to start up her café…
The Moon theme really suited her Café…
And the monsters really liked it too…
She didn’t much care about the human or mage customers… they were nice but nothing really matches how… at home she felt with the monsters… even if some like Jerry were rather annoying…
Moon and Stars…
She could work with that…
Not right now though…
Rest… Rest was absolutely needed…
And then time rolled back again...
And again...
And again...