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POV: 1st, Neville Longbottom
Life had been quiet since the battle of Hogwarts. The Students fighting in it, nicknamed the Great Divide generation by the historians for the grand divide between good and evil, Dumbledore’s army and the death eaters, had mostly settled into their own lifes, even bringing children into the world. Some, like Harry Potter or Hermione Granger, took to rebuild ministry and stuck to it after it’d been reformed, garnering such positions as Head Auror and Minister of Magic. Others took on more mundane jobs, like shopkeeps, to escape the rush which they had been thrust into, reveling in silent mundanity. I myself took to teaching the next generation of young wizards and witches as professor of Herboligy at Hogwarts and I loved my job. Seeing those young faces eager to learn, encouraging them like I’d never been encouraged, it was truly my one true profession. Still, the war left scars upon my mind that not even magic could fix, unlike the many bodily scars I’d collected, which -in good time- could be healed thanks to advances of medi-spellknowledge. Often I would dream of Nagini, Voldemort’s last Horcrux, the unatural fangs of the serpent tearing into my dream self, more akin to those of a shark than a viper.
In these nights I found no comfort, not in the fact that I had killed the abomination with Gryffindors sword -which these days hung high and mighty in the great hall, showing their victory over the darkness-, not in anything.
It had been one of those nights again, sleepless for the fear of what I’d find in the darkness, where something peculiar happened. I was reading an old book, one on parseltounge and parselmagic, which didn’t seem to have any advantages over normal magic safe for your apponent not being able to know which spell you cast, when the pages, yellowed in their age, began to glow. I was too slow to discard the tome, in my shock, I just let the magic, whichever it may be, take hold as the pages flipped of their own accord. To my horror, when my body caught up to my mind, I found my hands glued to the old tome. A blinding flash of light engulfed my sight, there was a large boom, as if thunder struck right next to my ears and- I wasn’t in my study any longer.
Looking around, this appeared to be my old room, which my grandmother had refused to redecorate after I moved out of it, thereby causing it to be very much still in the appearance of a lived-in room. Posters of plants and fungi plastered the walls, as did the actual plants litter the floor, their pots a variety of red shades. The bed still made neatly, light pink covers tucked into it’s sides. I must’ve been sent on my arse by the explosion(?) since my eyes were on a level with the bed’s head rest. A little under the terrarium housing Trevor, who was happily croaking away.
I made a double take.
It couldn’t have been, and yet it was, my old toad, trevor, happily croaking within the enchanted terrarium, blissfully unaware of the total mindfuck I was in the middle of experiencing. Trevor had escaped me somewhen around my fifth year at Hogwarts, back when the toad was our Defense teacher, at least officially.
This was almost like I was in the past… but it couldn’t be. The time turner’s had been destroyed, Hermione had confirmed that to me herself when I’d asked her. Every last one was destroyed and yet, there was the toad which should -by all means- be dead by now, over 20 years past the date when I’d lost it. The book!
That book had been left unread for hundreds of years, I’d pulled it out of the wreckedge that the chamber of secrets had left myself. It must’ve somehow contained some ancient magic, which catapulted me 20- maybe 30 years back in time! Had I read some of the incantations aloud in a absent daze? I had always been a clumsy boy, it wouldn’t bee too farfetched…
“Holy shit I think-”, My hand went to my mouth, that hadn’t been words that had just left my mouth- it’d been hissing. But how! I wasn’t a parselmouth, Harry was one but not me! Not even the most ancient of magics could grant me a blood talent, not one so dark and old. This went against so many different laws of magic I-
I had to go to school again, I realized, I had to attend snape’s lessons again!
“Fuck me…”
“Excuse me?!”
And just then, my grandmother had to overhear me, “Wash your mouth young man! I don’t want you using that kind of language ever again”
“Of course Grandma”, I replied out of reflex, “I’m sorry”
“Well fine then… Your uncle has offered to take you shopping for Hogwarts, better not keep him waiting”, she scowled at me. I knew why she did, she didn’t want me getting my own wand, she wanted me to use my father’s and uncle Algie had tried to get me my own wand against her wish in the past(future?) but back then I’d refused him, too scared of her. Now though I wouldn’t hesitate. Maybe I could actually do well in classes if my wand matches me… Fuck- I had to do homework again… this was gonna be a pain in the arse, “Yes grandma”
I got up quickly and dressed mysellf -which I had already done half way apperently- and went to greet my uncle. Algie Longbottom was a lot older than my dad, nearing his mid-fifties with long, graying hair and dark black eyes which looked like the same bitter chocolate that he enjoyed to very much, as was evident by his well groomed stomach.
With a hearty laugh, Algie wrapped his arms around me in a deep and strong hug, “I’m so proud of you Neville”, he said, “finally off to hogwarts. You worried us for a while there but no way that Frank’s kid is a squib, I knew it wasn’t true all along”
“Thanks uncle”, I replied sheepishly, before being released. Uncle Algie went through the floo and I followed suit, not before my Grandma told me to stick to my fathers wand though. A wish which I had every intention of not adhearing to.
Once through, Algie practically dragged me to Olivanders, as he had done before, though now, I had no intention of stopping him as I did before.
“Ah- Algie, 10 inches, unicorn hair and birch wood, springy”, Olivander told my uncle, his silvery eyes sparkling with mistery. He turned to me and his eyes widened a bit, “Oh my… Cherry with a core of unicorn hair, 13 inches… I must say, I haven’t made that one yet”
My eyes widened, Ollivander knew I was from the future? How? I began to panic a little but my Uncles voice rang through my panic, “Don’t worry neville, Ollivanders can feel what the last wand was you touched, you must’ve touched that one on our way here, some passerby probably”
My panic flew away once he said that. I’d never known about that before but it seemed reasonable enough, considering that I somehow became a parselmouth via an unkown time magic resting in a book.
“Let’s try this one”, Ollivander’s voice caught my attention, “14 inches, cherry with a dragon heartstring core”
I took the wand an immedietly blue and grey sparks shot out the end, an almost perfect match, “How wonderful”, Ollivander supplied, “not perfect but that is the closest we will get for now”
With that confusing trip over, Algie and I continued on our shopping spree without much hassle.