Tempus praeteritum, amor diu perditus, Accipe me, quod menu est inventive
Harry Potter
Harry Potter sat in his workshop. He held a glass of amber liquid, his eyes flicked down at his arm. Those two gray cauldrons are surrounded by wilted wildflowers. They mocked him for a future that he will never have.
At 25, Harry should have a family, and children, along with his business. Wand-making was his life. It was the only pleasure that he had in his life. The great Harry Potter vanquished the dark lord when he was only 18 months old.
Harry’s parents died that night. Unfortunately, he lived with his aunt and uncle, who abused him his entire childhood. Then to find out that he was a wizard and how his parents really died. Not to mention he was a hero.
Harry watched all of his friends find their soul mates, get married, and have children. At 18, he learned all about soulmates and their marks and found out that he would never meet his.
While the rest of his friends had colorful marks, his marks were gray. Harry couldn’t believe that fate would be cruel enough that he would get two soulmates that were already dead.
Harry’s eyes drooped as he made his way up to his bed. It shouldn’t be this hard to live. After he brushed his teeth, he lay down and hoped that tomorrow would be better.
A nightmare woke him up. Every night he is tortured by two pairs of hazel eyes. The sound of their laughter, their touch. It’s so real, Harry couldn’t live like this anymore. He had to do something. If only he could go back in time.
That’s it. He could go back in time. There had to be a way he would look in the library.
The Blacks were dark wizards. Harry, at 17, inherited Sirius Black’s lordship. His godfather Sirius, the man that was kissed for getting his parents killed. Everyone thought he betrayed his best friends. That was until they found the correct person who told Voldemort where they were. They found Peter 13 years too late.
The library’s fireplace roared to life as Harry walked in. He tried to stay away from too dark magic. Not that Harry hadn’t done darker spells. He learned not everything was black and white.
Harry would do what he have to have the life that he wanted. Too afraid of what he would do if he couldn’t find a resolution to this life of loneliness and emptiness.
———-
It’s been three weeks since Harry decided to look for a spell. It was 3 in the morning and Harry was bent over an old tome. His hair fell around his face from the band he had holding it back.
“This is useless. I should just forget about this. There isn’t a way that I will find my soulmates. Maybe I can find someone who lost their soulmates. I wouldn’t be alone then.” Harry shook his head and went back to his reading. When he turned the page, something caught his eye.
Harry read the spell multiple times. It was what he had been looking for. It was a spell for long-lost soulmates. The spell would take him to his soulmates.
Harry knew why this spell wasn’t used. It is blood magic. Not all spells or potions that are made with blood are bad, though this one, would affect him and everyone around him.
If Harry would do the spell, he would no longer exist. That is okay with him. He knew it was selfish and he should care about what was going to happen. Harry doesn't. He will find his soulmates and they will live happily forever after.
When he read the ingredients, he had everything he needed. Harry could do this tomorrow. There were things he had to get completed if he wanted money and other things. He will have his soulmates tomorrow. Harry Potter will be just Harry. Exhaustion finally caught up with him, and for the first time in his life, he wanted to wake up in the morning.
—————-
Harry took a deep breath as he cut open his palm and added the blood that was needed. The cauldron sat in the middle, surrounded by white candles. Runes are drawn on the floor. His hands shook as he stirred in the blood counterclockwise. It is time to say the spell. It has to be clear and loud.
Harry licked his lips as he started. “Tempus praeteritum, amor diu perditus, Accipe me, quod menu est inventive!” His voice didn't waiver as he finished the spell. Silence filled the room. He repeated the spell again. “Tempus praeteritum, amor diu perditus. Accipe me, quod menu est inventive!”
The ruins glowed as the cauldron bubbled. Wind swept through the room, blowing out the candles, and sending the room into darkness. Harry felt his heart beating out of his chest. The runes moved from the floor in an eerie glow. One by one, they rushed toward Harry and hit him. He watched in awe as they sunk into his skin.
Once all the runes glowed on his skin, he felt pins and needles on his skin. Soon his breathing picked up, and he felt darkness creep in. Then there was a bright explosion that lit up the room. Then the pain stopped, and the darkness took over.
———
Harry’s eyes fluttered open. His whole body felt heavy as he tried to move. The ground underneath him wasn’t the cold, hard floor of his library. It felt soft, like a mattress. Why was he on a mattress? This couldn’t be right. Was it all just a dream?
Harry slowly opened his eyes. Bright light poured into the room from the window. He rubbed his eyes and then took in the room. It wasn’t his bedroom! It looked like a hotel room.
The spell worked! Harry jumped out of bed. He looked around the room to see if there was a clue as to where and when he was. The clock on the side table blinked 12:30 pm.
There was a suitcase opened with clothing on a table. This is so strange... Harry knew he needed to go find his soulmates. His soulmates! His fingers pulled back his long sleeves and there they were. The two cauldrons covered in wildflowers are bright and vibrant.
Tears stung his eyes. They were alive! Harry grabbed his shoes and wand.
The hallway of the hotel was modern and looked very muggle. Maybe he was in muggle UK. He pressed the button to go down the life and the doors strung open.
“Hold the door, please!” A voice said from behind him. The younger woman smiled as she got into the lift with him.
“Thank you!” Harry took in her appearance, but nothing truly looked out of the ordinary.
“You’re welcome.” He pressed the button for the lobby.
“Are you from Scotland? You don’t sound it?” The stranger asked.
He was in Scotland, well at least he knows where he is.
“No, but I went to school in Scotland.” The woman smiled. Harry noticed her fingers play with the soul mark on her wrist.
“I’m going to Uni here! I’m from London. My parents wanted me to stay there to find my soulmate. Can you believe that? I was like it’s 1981! I will find my soulmate after Uni. Who knows, maybe my soulmate is here?”
1981! It’s 1981! He was a baby in 1981! So he was in muggle, Scotland in 1981! Hopefully, after what happened to Voldemort.
The door pinged open which brought Harry out of his head. He didn’t reply to the woman as he walked out of the lift.
——
Harry stepped out of the hotel. The sun was hidden behind the clouds. He took around his surroundings. His soulmates must be muggle, that can’t be right? Or maybe they just live in muggle areas.
That can’t be right. This place looked familiar. It looked like Hogsmeade. It couldn’t be right. Harry read the shop signs. The three matchsticks? Gladrags Boutique? Scrivenshaft’s stationery? In the distance stood a vast campus. There was a sign that read Hogwarts University. What! The people who walked around weren't wearing robes or looked magical.
Harry felt lightheaded. He needed to sit down and maybe have something to eat and drink. It has been a while since he has drunk or eaten anything. Maybe this was still a dream?
Harry didn’t want to go to the three matchsticks. He didn’t know what he would find there. His eyes moved to a smaller pub called The Double Trouble Pub that was new.
The pub was smaller but clean. At the bar, there were four men sitting. He didn’t want to draw attention to himself, so he found a booth in the corner.
Harry looked down at his soul mark. They had to be close. After he ate something, he would try to figure out what was going on. He closed his eyes and placed his head in his hands. It will all be okay.
Harry sat there for a few minutes. The noise of the music and chatter didn’t calm him. His stomach rolled, and he felt lightheaded. Then he heard a laugh, the laugh that haunted his dreams every night. Harry’s head snapped up, and his soul mark tingled.
When he scrambled to his feet, the laughter stopped. Harry looked around when he saw those hazel eyes both sets. His eyes fluttered, and he felt the floor come up and meet him.
Fabian
Fabian opened up his pub like he did every day. It was a typical spring day in Scotland. Fabian and his twin, Gideon, owned Double Trouble. At 25, they were business owners and cool uncles. The only thing that was missing was their soulmate. They know they share a soulmate. They share everything.
Fabian looked down at his arm., where a lightning bolt is surrounded by intricate sticks. Their missing piece, their soulmate. It was still golden, so they were alive and one day, hopefully soon they will meet.
“Ian, you alright?” Gideon asked as he walked out of the kitchen. Fabian smiled at his brother.
They look identical, spitting images. Red hair, hazel eyes. Their freckles were even in the same spots across their noses and cheeks.
“Yeah Gid, I’m good. Just lost myself there for a moment. I don’t think I slept well last night,” They share a room in the flat above their pub.
He saw the concern on his twin’s face. Gideon was a worrier, always had been. Fabian had always been the one who took care of everything, so Gideon didn’t have to have extra worry.
“Tonight I’ll close up. Then you can go upstairs and take a bath to relax. I don’t mind. When I come up, I’ll make us some tea before bed.”
Fabian shook his head at his twin. ‘No, we will close together. It is always faster when we do. Maybe we will close early tonight. It usually isn’t so busy on a Tuesday.”
Gideon bit his bottom lip, but he nodded. “Okay, closing early sounds good. Who knows, maybe our soulmate will walk through those doors tonight. I’m feeling lucky.”
The door swung open and a pair of their regulars walked in. That put a stop to their conversation. Fabian didn’t want to hurt his brother, but he didn’t think they would meet their soulmate soon.
Gideon
Gideon heard the laughter from the front as he worked in the office with some paperwork. He was only back there because he needed to help Fabian. There was something going on with his brother. He knew it probably had to do with their younger sister having a family before them. The longer they didn’t have their soulmate, the worse it got.
Gideon huffed and pushed away from the desk. He should see what all the fun is out there.
When he walked out into the pub, the laughter stopped. Fabian was frozen on the spot. Something was wrong. He rushed over to his brother and looked toward who he was looking at.
Emerald green eyes burned into his. Gideon felt his soul mark tingle. The man was theirs. Before he could smile at the man. The man’s eyes fluttered and fell to the floor.
“Shite!” they both said as they ran around the bar.
Gideon got the first look at their beautiful soulmate. Beautiful olive skin and black eyelashes fanned over his cheeks. His lips were plush and a soft shade of pink. The man was smaller than they were. It looks like he needed to put on weight.
“Wow Ian he is”
“Perfect, I know!” Fabian finished his sentence. They noticed their friends surrounded them.
Harry
Harry felt his eyes flutter. He knew he was going to wake up and be in his library. He didn’t meet his soulmates and they are still dead. That stupid spell didn’t work.
“Beautiful, open your eyes. I can tell you want to.” The most wonderful voice encouraged.
“Yes, Precious, open your eyes. We want to see those beautiful emerald eyes.” The matching voice said.
Oh, gods, it wasn’t a dream. They were really alive!
“I’ll go get him some water.” A familiar voice said.
“I’ll come with you!” No, it couldn’t be.
Harry opened his eyes. Those hazel eyes looked down at him. His soulmates. Tears burned his eyes. He did it!
“Jamie, he looks just like you. That is weird!” Harry snapped his head toward the unfamiliar voice. There crouched was a man who looked like Sirius’s Black younger brother.
“Maybe he is a long-lost twin? Hey Gid, Ian, maybe I have a twin.” Harry sat straight up. That was his father. James Potter.
“He is almost as cute as Jamie.” Regulus laughed and pressed a kiss onto James’s lips. Holy shite! What is going on?
Harry felt two hands cup each cheek. He looked back toward his soulmates.
“Are you okay Beautiful?”
“Yes, Precious, you took a tumble.” His twins are perfect and so sweet.
“Y...yeah, this isn’t a dream, right? You are here, both of you are here.” Harry reached with his shaky hands to touch both of their faces.
“Of course not, Beautiful. We are here.” One twin said as he turned his head and kissed his palm.
“And we are not going anywhere.” The other finished and kissed his palm as well.
“Here is the water.” Harry looked up and saw Remus Lupin with Sirius standing beside him.
“Look at you, Moony, saving the day.” Sirius kissed the taller man’s cheek. Harry felt lightheaded again. Okay, maybe the spell killed him. This was his afterlife. It doesn’t really matter if it was real or not, he was with his soulmates.
“I think we should take him home, brother. He isn’t looking too good.”
Harry felt darkness creep in again. No, if he passed out again, he might wake up at his home, or worse, not wake up at all.