Amulet of Time 3: The Wolf and The Pelican

Chapter 29: Summer of Woes

The summer started off fairly well, all things considered. As soon as the four time travellers had finished seeing off their friends at the station, they headed back up to the castle to get ready for their own departure. As Hogwarts would be deserted in the summer, leaving them with nothing to do, they had all decided that moving to Domus Corvus Corax would be the best thing to do. It was close to the Order, so they would be available for meetings, as well as having heavy wards and almost limitless resources. They would always have something to do, whether it was practicing their skills, planning strategies, or doing research in the library.

The one thing they would have to be careful of was who got to see them. The spell they had placed on most of the Order and Hogwarts population had several conditions. The time delay had allowed those affected to get out of range of the four before it became active, preventing any mishaps. The reversal of the spell was keyed into their current appearance, and when they showed up in their own time, people would remember what had really happened in the year they had been there. They had to be very specific in the spell, as they couldn't have people like Severus and Remus remembering them when they were teaching them in their earlier years. Harry hadn't thought of this when he first thought up the spell, but luckily for all of them Hermione was thorough in her planning. The only thing they had to worry about now was being seen by anyone they had cast the spell on. If they were seen, the effects would be nullified, and recasting wasn't an option. It was a one time charm, so they had to get it right. This meant that when they went to Order meetings, they would remain invisible and not announce their presence. The only ones who still retained their full memories of the events were James, Lily, Eustace, the elves, Dumbledore and Voldemort. They had cast the spell on the rest of the Hogwarts staff before leaving the school. While a few of the Death Eaters had seen them at attacks, they didn't know enough about them for it to be a real issue.

The only problem remaining was the ghosts. The spell wouldn't work on them, for obvious reasons, but it was imperative that they didn't slip up when the time travellers' eleven year old selves came to Hogwarts. It could be a disaster if they forgot, and mentioned any of the things that had happened to their younger selves. This was why Harry found himself hanging back when the other three were ready to leave via the fireplace in Harry's room. Telling them to go on ahead to Corvus Corax, he contacted the two ghosts and waited for them to arrive. It was time, he felt, to tie up as many loose ends as possible before he left for the summer. There were still some issues that were unresolved, but he already had plans for how to fix them. As Peeves and Gallatea floated through the wall, chatting amiably in Anglo-Saxon, Harry cleared his throat to get their attention before taking a seat on one of the chairs in front of his fireplace.

" Peeves, 'Tea, I need to talk to you about some things."

" What like, Harry?" Gallatea asked.

" Well, Hermione, Ron, Ginny and I believe that the next time jump we make will probably take us home. We have already had three trips, and we are getting very close to our own time as it is, so it is highly likely we will be going home at the end of the summer."

Harry sat in silence for a few moments to allow this to sink in before continuing.

" The reason I asked you here was to discuss security with you."

" You want to make sure we don't tell," Peeves guessed.

" Yes. We have cast a spell on nearly everybody, making them forget any specifics of our identities until we return to the nineties. The problem is, it won't work on you. Not that I don't trust you both, but we know how disastrous it would be if anything got out. Especially at this point in time. On our previous jaunts, it wasn't really an issue, as the events we have tried so hard to preserve were years and years away. This time, though, things are imminent. In five short years, their whole world will change, and we need that to happen the way it is supposed to. Can I count on you both to be discreet until such a time as it is safe to talk about it?"