Amulet of Time 4: There and Back Again

Chapter 6: Now What?

" I'm just going to give you the summarised version," Harry told everyone, " Because to tell you everything that has happened to us would take a long time. When I've finished, you can ask me some questions if you like, and if you want to ask us any specific details about things we would like to keep private, I ask that you speak to us alone later."

Harry waited while everyone nodded their acceptance. He was preparing to give them a brief summary, as there were a lot of things they wanted to keep under wraps. If they wanted to discuss the things he was going to miss out, they would have to wait and ask later. There were things he was only prepared to answer in front of certain people.

" Alright, some of you know a little of what has happened, and others know a lot. There are people, though, who know nothing at all. For the benefit of those, I will explain things that others may already know about. I ask those that know already to bear with me."

Taking a deep breath, Harry prepared himself and began his speech.

" The story starts on my fifteenth birthday. Hermione gifted me with a small amulet on a chain that she had found in a shop in Sofia, Bulgaria," Harry said, holding up the amulet for everyone to see, " She thought it would be the perfect present for me, as it is decorated with several animals and a symbol. In the centre is a lion, much like the Gryffindor emblem, surrounded by a phoenix in flight, a winged horse, a unicorn and a lightning bolt. It wasn't until a few hours ago that I realised the significance of these symbols. That, however, will be discussed later."

Many of the people in the room were sending each other confused glances, not seeing the relevance of this information. Harry flashed them a smile that reassured them that he did have a point, and was about to make it.

" I thought nothing more of the amulet until I went to Diagon Alley to buy my school supplies, the same trip upon which I captured Peter Pettigrew. I saw a book about amulets in a bookshop, and decided to buy it in case mine was mentioned in there."

Harry looked closely at everyone to see if they had picked up on how he had phrased the sentence. He did not want to say that the book shop was in Knockturn Alley, so he conveniently said 'a bookshop' instead of 'the bookshop', which would have implied Flourish and Blotts.

" Earlier today, I was reading the book on the train when I found a description of it, claiming that by saying a spell it would bring great personal wealth. We decided to try it. I must stress, though, that Hermione was against the idea. We sat on our trunks in the middle of the compartment and said the words to the spell," Harry placed the amulet of Dumbledore's desk, " Which were 'Tempus Vehere'. As many of you will know, this means 'time travel' in Latin."

Harry smirked slightly at the gasps he heard, and looked intently at the shocked faces. Some looked more surprised than others, especially the Muggles. Harry was pleased to note, though, that Hermione's parents seemed to understand the concept better than he had expected. With Hermione's intelligence, though, it wasn't that surprising. She must have gotten her brains from somewhere. Once the frantic whispering trailed off, Harry continued with his explanation.

" Needless to say, we were most surprised when we found ourselves on the Hogwarts grounds. The sensation was similar to a portkey, so we thought we had simply been moved geographically, and we were rather shocked when we got to the castle to find four people waiting for us. We soon discovered that they were speaking Anglo-Saxon. After a quick translation charm, courtesy of Hermione, we were introduced to Godric Gryffindor, Salazar Slytherin, Rowena Ravenclaw and Helga Hufflepuff."

Everyone gaped at the four after this little revelation. Those who had known, such as Remus, Dumbledore and Sev, sat in amused silence as Sirius fell of his chair and Percy fainted. Molly looked about ready to cry, and most of the teachers looked as if they wanted to start asking questions about the Hogwarts founders. After enervating Percy with a wave of his hand, causing more stares, Harry carried on.