Harry Potter and the Time Fluke

Fine For Now

The library was uncommonly quiet, devoid even of the whispered conversations Madame Pince occasionally allowed; if you were a good student, that is. The reason for the silence was due in part to it being the middle of the day; most of the school was attending classes. There was, however, a small scattering of students–upper years–who were frantically scratching away at lengths of parchment. Harry supposed they were finishing up homework they had foolishly put off. He too had once been a procrastinator, though not as good as Ron, but the habit had luckily died as his mind grew older.

Tom led the quartet through the many bookshelves and tables before stopping at their usual secluded station. Harry liked it because it was partially hidden from the rest of the room by a diagonally placed shelf, and because of the tall, arched gothic window above the table. It gave a pretty view of the snow-covered grounds.

After placing his bag–which he had all along–down next to his customary seat at the head of the table, Tom stalked off, presumably to look for a reference book if what he'd said about that essay for Professor Merrythought had been true. Orion and Abraxas sat down on one side of the rectangular table, and Harry took a seat across from the blonde. It was one away from Tom, but also closer to the window and Harry wanted to be able to look out it whenever fancy took him. And, as it happened, once he was settled he decided to observe the Care of Magical Creatures class three stories below. Professor Kettleburn had procured a Porlock and was showing it off to the fifth year Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws.

"So," Orion casually began, snapping Harry's attention back to the elder Slytherin duo, "you and Tom have worked out your, eh, problem now, have you?"

Harry blinked slowly, thinking of the best way to answer. "Well... What do you think?"

"One would presume that things between the two of you have returned to normal," Abraxas cut in, "but... we did find you on the floor, with a rather furious expression when we arrived in the common room..."

"Only because Tom knocked me onto the floor," Harry said, eyes narrowing slightly in remembrance.

"Evidence that things haven't worked themselves out completely yet," Orion pointed out.

"But we were getting along fine before that." Harry sighed lightly and looked back out the window, propping his elbow on the table and resting his chin in his hand. "I guess a good answer would be that we're fine for now, but not to the extent we used to be. It'll be a while before that happens, I think."

Orion gave a one-shouldered shrug and dug in his bag, pulling out a potions text and a half-written essay. Abraxas, on the other hand, wasn't quite yet ready to drop the subject. "How come?"

"Oh, a few things, really," Harry said cryptically. He wasn't sure he wanted to give the complete reasons behind his actions out to the two in front of him. They were, after all, better friends with Tom than they were with him, and he didn't want any information getting back to the other boy before he was ready for it. "A couple of things Tom said, a few things I said–we'll work it out eventually." He spared a quick glance Abraxas' way and noted the older boy didn't appear appeased with that answer. However, he seemed to think better than pushing the subject as Tom had returned, a heavy and very old tome clutched with both hands.

"That looks like it's from the restricted section," Orion said, peering inquisitively at the book.

"Because it is," Tom replied with a self-satisfied grin on his face. "Obscure and forgotten curses require obscure and forgotten texts."

"And we finally arrive at the real reason why you'd waste your time with an extra credit project for Merrythought," Harry stated dryly with a single arched brow. Tom didn't even look his way as he slid gracefully into his chair.

"Alas, you've found me out. Whatever shall I do?" Tom said tonelessly, flipping through to the index. The corners of Harry's lips quirked up despite himself. It really had been too long since Tom had joked around with him...

A serene quiet steeled over the group, punctured by the sounds of quills scratching and pages turning. Unlike the rest of his friends, Harry did not have his school bag. He'd left it outside for Dmitry to deal with when he'd dashed off after Tom. He knew he should probably pull a book off one of the shelves to occupy himself, but boredom had yet to creep up on him.

With his eyes staring transfixed and somewhat out of focus at the grounds outside the window, occasionally shifting to a different spot once his sight sharpened, he let his daydreams take over. Some were simple memories of another life, how specific, key events could have played out differently, and others were idle fantasies of how he could re-shape the future. He saw Hagrid, not being expelled and graduating Hogwarts; Tom finally seeing reason about the basilisk and muggle-born situation. He imagined what life would be like living in a small London flat with Tom until better living arrangements could be made for the both of them. Radical ideas replaced foolish plans for how he could keep Voldemort from rising again; some laughably simple, others impossibly complicated.

The rays of sunlight filtering through the windowpanes and illuminating the library workstation warmed Harry where he sat. The library–like most of the castle–was never well-heated, and so the sun's rays were not unwelcome. In fact, they filled him with a drowsiness and the urge to take an afternoon catnap. So, Harry closed his eyes and let his mind wander–more so than it had previously been doing. He slowly began to bounce his leg and let his mind's inventions and illusions freely take hold of his consciousness.

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AN: I'm so sorry honestly this chapter was a filler because I have to update and just finished college final exams so I haven't been writing, forgive me.