Chapter 2
“Come with us, and all will be revealed.”
“Yeah, see, I don’t think I will.” Alma said, as Una had been preparing to start walking again. The unicorn woman looked at her surprised.
“What do you mean you won’t?” she asked.
“I mean... this is kind of too much... actually it is way too much. I can’t think straight. And, frankly, this is a dream I’d rather not have. So... can I wake up now?”
Una walked up to her, and her eyes bore firmly into Alma’s eyes.
“This is very much a real thing. Whether you like it or not. Now come with me, please, and listen to what I have to say.”
Alma yielded and started walking behind Una again, if only this meant that this dream would be over faster. As they turned a few corners, they came upon the statue of a gargoyle in an alcove. Alma was going to ask if they really were going to be going there, especially since she knew what rested behind the statue, when a stairway rose elegantly from under it, meaning the man that was walking in front of them had already given the bird the password.
Climbing the stairs into the room she already knew was there, Alma heard all the voices around her, but she was shutting them out. Entirely.
This was the office of the Headmaster of Hogwarts, and she knew the Headmaster was none other than Albus Dumbledore. Oh boy... This dream was only getting weirder. And Dumbledore was there, sitting behind his desk, looking at her from behind his half-moon spectacles. Of course, as big as all of this was, she couldn’t keep herself from staring around her. It wouldn't do to keep eye contact with Dumbledore for too long until she had more answers about what was going on. As Una approached the desk and started talking to the Headmaster, Alma was looking at the portrait paintings of former Hogwarts Headmasters, who seemed to be sleeping at present. Her eyes locked briefly with Severus Snape, his face still angry, as he listened to what Una was saying and ascertained Alma's reactions. She suddenly felt severely underdressed, even with the coat over her nightgown.
Her eyes unknowingly became fixed on the man with the greasy dark hair. Yeah, he did look like Severus Snape. She didn’t get why he had to be there, but if he was determined to stare at her, she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of looking away first. Maybe Dumbledore knew something and had told Severus as well, so they decided to both remain for this meeting. She kept staring at him until he looked away. Obviously, whatever Una was saying was far more interesting for him than her silent eyes. She fixed her gaze on the tallest shelf on the bookcase behind the desk. Upon it stood a pointy hat, it's top quivering slightly. The Sorting Hat of Hogwarts. Could she maybe convince them to put it on her and sort her, once and for all, in Slytherin? Just so she could, like, you know, go back knowing that the actual Sorting Hat had sorted her into Slytherin? She snorted, and all eyes turned to her at once. God, some nightmare this was turning out to be. And just as her pulse stopped pounding in her ears, the conversation started seeping in from the people around the desk.
“You needn’t act like you didn’t see this coming.” Una was saying to Dumbledore. “I did let you know in advance that I was going to bring someone who can help. You need help.”
“I don’t see why he needs help from someone who clearly has no bearings." Severus was saying. "You said she knew what she was getting into, but she stares around as if she doesn’t even know who we are and where she is.”
“Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape.” Alma said, very much aware without looking at them that she had caught their entire attention. She ignored how saying Snape's name out loud had made her heart stutter a little.
“Excuse me?” Severus Snape asked, as bewildered as he could be at hearing her speak, considering the level of control he was obviously exerting over his features.
“The man sitting behind the desk is the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. You’re the Hogwarts School Potions Master and Head of Slytherin House, Severus Snape.” She then stared straight at him, adding: “Feel free to tell me I’m wrong.” Alma turned away and continued in a very well mannered, simple way. "And I don't believe I will excuse you, as a matter of fact. Anyone's got a right to take a second when they go to bed in their own house and wake up in the middle of a forest 20 years before they went to sleep."
Let him take whatever information he wanted from that. She let the new information seep into them. She hoped that these very smart powerful men could maybe come up with an idea or two about how to get her back home.
“I’ll answer any and all questions you may have, but first I want to know why I’m here, when I am and what happened to my family.” She then looked at Una, soft and pleadingly. “Please, Una.” Alma hoped that this show of cooperation would help her gain their confidence.
The unicorn woman looked at Dumbledore, then at Severus, seeking their approval for the woman she had brought in, and then turned to Alma.
“You have to pass a test.”
“You seriously are pushing me, and I will soon start...”
“It will take no time at all. You have to place yourself in time.”
“You mean I have to guess WHEN I am?”
“An educated guess, yes. If you are going to be any help to them, you have to be able to recognize things around you.”
“I do recognize things around myself. Anyone would, what does that even mean?”
Alma was going to protest some more, but as she opened her mouth she realized what Una was asking her to do. She had to figure out how much she could tell Dumbledore and Severus before she started giving away too much information. For all intents and purposes, she came from their future, so there was only so much she could share with them without damaging the timeline. This made sense, because so far she had been careful, only stating information that was available to anyone who was interested in getting it, something that you could read in biographies or papers, nothing greatly incriminatory or personal. But there were other things she couldn’t tell them, unless the story she knew had unfolded to certain points.
She thought for a second that maybe if she got it wrong Una might consider taking her home. The thought amused her because she knew it was almost impossible she could get anything wrong. Her pride would not allow it, even if it could prove her ticket home.
“Can I ask questions to get hints, if I get stuck on something?”
“Of course, if you feel the questions are relevant.”
Ok, so if Alma wants to ask why Tom Riddle’s diary wasn’t in the case where it was supposed to be after spring of 1993, she wasn’t supposed to ask. She should just assume that she was sometime before spring of 1993. This seemed easy enough.
It was winter, that much she knew. So, sometime in or before winter of 1992. An educated guess would be December, but she thought that was quite obvious, considering she had gone to bed on December 10th and woken up only a night later, possibly on December 11th whatever year this was.
She was considering that maybe this was 1989, since it would make sense to have been brought back on her actual birth date. She knew that birthdays carried magical significance. But she really had nothing supporting this, other than that one’s birthday could be a very powerful time to do some magic for time and space travel. There was also the twelve symmetry: she was twenty four, two times twelve, which made her be perfectly born and transported so she could have the same character and personality as during her normal time frame.
Yes, that would make sense. But she had no proof, and she couldn’t just say it out loud without sounding stupid. Besides, she had to base her results on the Harry Potter universe. Difficult as hell.
As she was thinking of a way out of her predicament, the girl with pink hair came into focus. There was something about her. Alma felt as if there was a thing she needed to remember about her, that she knew her somehow. And then it hit her.
“The girl that bumped into me in the hallway, with the bubblegum pink hair.” She paused, looking at Una for approval, and saw the woman smile brightly. “Is it okay if I ask about her?”
“I don’t know.” the unicorn woman answered. “What do you think?”
“I just need a yes or no answer. Is she Nymphadora Tonks?”
She said this staring straight at Dumbledore, hoping he wasn’t going to decide now, of all times, it was the moment to lie to her.
“Yes, she is.” He said slowly. Alma didn't wonder how he knew who she was talking about. She knew there were no other children at Hogwarts with bubblegum pink hair.
“She met up with some other kids, all with ginger hair. Weasley boys. There were... two small ones that looked alike, so those are Fred and George, and two older ones... one of them is Percy, and the other one has to be Charlie, because Bill is already out of school if the twins are in school.”
She saw with every bit of information that Dumbledore seemed to agree with her. That meant her deduction so far had been accurate. It also made sense that Nymphadora was friends with the Weasleys’ since her mother was part of the Black family, and Molly Weasley was related with the Blacks. Personality wise, she fit right in with Charlie's daredevil courage and the twins impishness.
She had also noted the twins looked quite small. How she would have wanted for this to be undisputed proof that they were in their first year, so that she could conclude it was 1989. But she was still stuck on the year before Harry came to school. Even the further detail that the boy who undisputedly had to be Percy wasn’t wearing a Prefect badge accounted for nothing, since Percy only became a Prefect when Harry joined the school.
Still, there had to be something more than just was not coming to her. Some other thing Harry mentions, does, says or someone he meets... Oh right! The creepy Voldemort guy! But how can she ask about him without arousing suspicion? No matter how she thought about it, asking about a professor would only bring out more questions about why he was an interesting mention. Students she was supposed to know about, teachers may be a different matter depending on the year.
Still, what was Quirrell teaching at Hogwarts before he took the leave of absence the year before Harry came to school? Oh right, Muggle Studies! And then the year before Harry came to school, he took a sabbatical to Albania and got stuck with Voldemort inside his head. Dare she ask about it?
“Is the Muggle Studies professor Quirinus Quirell? I always liked a good alliteration in a name.” Alma smirked, looking at Severus.
“Yes, he is.” It was Dumbledore that answered her question again.
“Alright then. I believe, with a fair amount of accuracy, that today is December 11th 1989. I had a hunch it would be, but I needed something more to vouch for my hunch other than the fact that in the time that I come from, I was, quite literally, born yesterday. Now it’s your turn to tell me if I’m right or not.”
“You see, Mr. Dumbledore? I told you she was right for the job.” Una said looking about as smug as a unicorn woman could. Alma was surprised to give a small laugh. Everyone looked in her direction.
“Sorry.” Looking at every one of them in turn, she said slowly and a bit shyly. “It’s just that Mr. is not... what I’m accustomed to. I’ve always read about you as headmaster Dumbledore, sir. Mister just doesn’t suit you.”
“It’s good to know.” Professor Dumbledore looked at her and smiled kindly for the first time since she had entered this room. For some reason, this didn’t strike a good note with her. Rather than nice, Dumbledore suddenly felt threatening. “So, you were able to figure out the time when you were. That’s very impressive.”
Una opened her mouth to say something, but Alma already had a vague answer prepared.
“It’s rather easy, now that I think about it. It’s a matter of figuring out what’s missing, like... from here for instance. There’s lots of stuff here at one point or another in time. I just... know what they are, so it gets easy to assume they should be here and since they aren’t...”
“There’s no point in asking where they are, you just assume you are before their time.” Dumbledore looked even less pleased with her than a minute ago.
Alma began to feel that Una seemed preoccupied by Dumbledore’s reticence, as if she was expecting him to start using torture to get information out of her. But Alma knew, or at least suspected that Dumbledore wasn’t going to do that. Not torture anyway. But he was going to find a way to break some of her defences. So she had to be on guard every time she was around him from this point on, to make sure, absolutely sure she wasn’t going to say anything bad that could cause trouble.
The thing was, what should she consider bad or good? Was it okay to tell them the truth about Sirius, for instance, so he could get out of Azkaban? Or about Voldemort’s hiding place, so they could maybe capture him and keep him under lock and key? Maybe she should say something about the ministry official who got his son out of jail and led, indirectly, to Voldemort’s comeback? How about the Horcruxes, should she say anything about those, in advance? Or how about sticking to the closer and obvious, that the Muggle Studies teacher was going to find Voldemort and try and help him get the Philosopher’s Stone?
The more she thought about it, the more her head hurt. Maybe telling them all of those things would cause trouble that could in turn cause consequences she wasn’t ready for. But was it all right to let things unfold just because the alternative was her not knowing what would happen next? Oh, the moral implications, another thing to add to the complicated nature of matters.
Una must have noticed what was going on in Almathea’s head. She drew her attention and spoke in a steady voice.
“I have to go now. I have a few final rules. You may not tell anyone anything that happens before it happens. If it’s in your power to change something, you may do so, but you are not allowed to alter events by telling someone what they are supposed to do or not."
Well, that settles that, then, Almathea thought wryly.
"Make sure everything happens at its own given time. Certain events may be delayed or even cancelled just by the fact that you are here. So make sure some of them do indeed happen."
Again, obvious, Alma thought.
"Don’t rush things. All that you need to know or change will come with time. Don’t plan ahead, because with all your planning you’ll notice things will still turn out their own way."
What a complicated way to say just go with the flow. Alma laughed inwardly.
"And this is the most important one: have some fun in the process. You’re in Hogwarts School, for crying out loud!” Una seemed to think this should cheer Alma up, but really she was already too tired and her mind was too stretched to cope with it.
Una smiled brightly and kindly and Almathea felt warmth coming from her. "I know you're here without your family and you are worried about them, but they are safe. Unfortunately, your removal from your timeline was necessary, and cannot be reversed. But it will be rewarding."
Almathea thought this was a very kind way to tell her she was never going to see her family again. The pain that slowly gripped her made her look away from the unicorn woman. Then Una turned, a bit more severe, to look at Dumbledore.
“Considering she just got here today do you think you could postpone talking to her until tomorrow?”
“I could consider postponing until this evening.” Dumbledore said this without a doubt that it was going to happen. Maybe he was right too. The sooner she answered some of his questions, the closer she would be to being trusted. But what should she say?
“Could I make a request?” Alma asked. Both Severus and Dumbledore looked at her with the kind of faces you’d use to scare one of your worst enemies. And she thought Dumbledore was supposed to be nice. “It’s just that I would appreciate it if tonight only professor Dumbledore would do the questioning. I don’t mind answering any questions so long as it’s an answer I know and can give. It’s just that... well, you both have secrets you keep from one another and I’m afraid that if you’re both here then you won’t like what I have to say.”
She said the last part looking at Severus. You couldn’t read anything on his face anymore. She tried to think that this was a good sign, that it meant maybe he’d figured out she could say something damaging about him. Well, not him as a person, but pieces of his personality that he was trying to make forgotten. Alma turned to Dumbledore again, waiting for his reply. She also knew things about him that Severus couldn’t find out.
“Noted." Dumbledore said simply. "Severus, we will have to arrange accomodations for our guest. In the meantime, please escort Miss..."
“Almathea Spencer.” She said as fast as humanly possible.
“Miss Spencer to one of the empty rooms in the dungeons.”
Another person maybe would have thought this was some form of sentence, but Alma knew the dungeons were Slytherin territory. It almost felt like Dumbledore was putting her under Severus’ guard. That didn’t give her a very good feeling. Not a good feeling at all.
Severus made a motion towards the door in a follow-me-and-don’t-lose-your-way style, and Alma nodded in Una's direction, somehow guessing that she wasn’t going to be there in the evening. It dawned on her that maybe this was the last time she was going to see her.
“A second, please, Mr. Snape, I just have a few more things to share with Almathea." Una turned to her. "The coat you’re wearing now is magical. Whatever you want to wear, just imagine it and when you take the coat off it will appear. Same with the shoes.” Alma looked a bit perplexed, so Una added: “Test it while you're resting in your room. And one last thing.”
Una held out a medium sized twig, all white and beautifully decorated with carvings of animals and green vines entwined along its length. She handed it to Almathea, but she felt quite reluctant to touch it.
“That’s a wand.” Alma said, pointing at it as if it was something dirty. “I’m a Muggle. What am I supposed to do with that?”
“It’s a very special wand, made for you. It’ll tap into your imagination, rather than your magical core. You know some spells, right?”
“Yeah, who doesn’t?”
“Try it.”
Alma took it and had a weird feeling while touching it, as if it had become part of her hand. Part of her very being actually. She swished it around a little, and settled its tip on a piece of paper on Dumbledore’s desk.
“Wingardium Leviosa.” She said with a clear steady tone, and the paper started floating. Her first spell and it had worked! Hermione would have been proud. This was more than incredible.
But before she could turn and thank Una, the unicorn woman had disappeared. The black unicorn stood in her stead, and began to fade. Slowly, and quietly, like a gentle breeze, she heard the last murmur of Una’s soft voice: “Remember the rules, and have fun!”
Almathea turned to face Severus again, and he motioned her out of the office. She nodded to Dumbledore as she went outside. She was sincerely hoping that it was going to get easier to face him, because right then she felt intimidated as hell.
As they were making their way to the dungeons, Severus made no move towards finding out who she was or how much she knew. Maybe he was sure he was going to be there for Dumbledore’s interrogation tonight.
She was much too intimidated still to be able to say anything. She’d made quite an impression today with just the few things she had said. Maybe Dumbledore was going to be nicer to her after she’d show him exactly how much she knew about him and the rest of the characters in the story. Maybe it would also be better if she got used to thinking about them as people and not characters. They were alive, it was only polite.
Severus led her to a door behind which she found a room with a bathroom. He said nothing the whole time, simply nodded and left after she went inside. It was fine, Alma thought. They were right to be apprehensive. But tonight, she would earn their trust.
Tonight, she would make Severus Snape notice her.