Paenitenia: Nova Vita- Chapter 2- anonmouser

Reading Time:
9 Minutes

Sirius growled as Harry glanced at him warily.

“I support your rights and wrongs, Pads, but please don’t kill him before I’m done with my plans.”

Sirius huffed as Bill patted his shoulder in solidarity.

“I can embarrass him while I kill him, promise.”

“No. He deserves to know that all of his planning was for nothing. That no one with good sense respects him and that far greater wixen than him will get the spotlight he tried to keep from them. I want him to know that he’s going to be forgotten. And then you can kill him.”

“Stop making sense, I’m trying to put my rage to productive use,” the man whined.

Bill laughed as he stood up.

“If it’s any consolation, I have a meeting with the git in half an hour. How he made the time to question me about monitoring you when he’s supposed to be fighting to get back to work is anyone’s guess. I’m half of mind to ignore him.”

“Don’t,” Harry suggests.

“But, pull the memory of your call as soon as you’re done. He’s likely trying to ensure Sirius doesn’t talk to me or convince me to visit. In my last timeline, I didn’t even know this place existed until death eaters attacked the Dursley’s house and I was escorted. No one wrote to me the whole summer and I was right pissed when I saw that everyone but me was all cozied up in here.”

The older men winced.

“That sounds awful. I don’t know why that old goat insists they all coop up here anyway.”

Sirius flops back on the bed as he goes on.

“I shouldn’t be here. I need mind healing if I’m going to take custody of you, and he knows my family were awful to me. This is the last place I should be. With everything you’ve told us, I’m convinced he keeps stopping me on purpose. The Weasley family don’t need to be here. I know for a fact the Prewett Twins had private properties, Molly would have access to them if she bothered to sort their things or consult their account managers. Her parents had a home too, and while she was distant from them, it’s merely because they didn’t agree with her marrying young and foregoing her potions mastery. She’s the only Prewett left. It belongs to her.”

Harry frowns. He hadn’t known that.

He supposed the kids pulling away from her after an argument everyone refused to tell him about made sense now, in hindsight. The Weasleys did tend to be rather stubborn. It wouldn’t surprise him that the woman wouldn’t want to step foot in a childhood home because she left it on shaky terms. Harry doesn’t blame her in all honesty, but, he wished she would consider that that decision didn’t impact her alone.

“We’ll deal with that later. For now, I need to get these rituals over with. I need George, Fred, and Charlie in here.”

He ignored their squawking as he undid the lock and opened the door. He took a moment to put on a mask of confusion as he was no doubt being watched, and wondered around until he found the stairs. Following the sound of conversation, he came into the sitting room, where the kids gathered on the sofas, Remus sitting at the desk in the corner.

“Harry!” Hermione hurried up as she caught sight of him and he smiled in genuine happiness at seeing her.

“Hey, Mione.” He let himself be wrapped up as she simultaneously hugged him while trying to assess him, and he let himself be manhandled by Ron as he did the same.

“What happened,” the redhead demanded.

“Ronald! That’s no way to speak to him. It’s hardly his fault he passed out.”

“I’m just asking what happened to him you harpy, get off my case!”

“Well, ask nicely!”

Harry smiled as he caught sight of Remus massaging his temple, and left the two to bicker as he slipped away and joined the twins on the couch.

He subtly cast a privacy charm, eyeing Remus and pointedly miming for him to keep shut as his hearing no doubt went off and looked back as he nodded, confused.

“I have something important to tell you two and I need everyone to be distracted when I do.”

They shared a look before nodding.

“Leave it to us, Harrykins,” Fred insisted as he hopped up from the couch.

George stood but placed a hand on his shoulder before following.

“You’re okay?” Merlin, Harry wanted to kiss him.

He squashes that feeling as he nods. He reaches up and squeezes the older boy’s hand.

“I’m okay.” George smiles and cheekily tugs his ear before following his brother.

Catching Remus’ motion for him to come over, Harry pulls himself onto the desk. The wolf eyes him for a moment before casting his own privacy charm.

“Something’s different about you, and I highly doubt you passing out was a case of illness.”

“Correct.”

“Do I have the honor of knowing what’s going on?”

“I have a few rituals to complete, but I promise I’ll let Pads fill you in while I do them.”

“You’re making it very hard not to ask questions.”

“I am my father’s child,” he sassed.

Remus let out a bark of surprised laughter as he shook his head.

“Do I need to make myself spare as the twins do whatever they’re about to do?”

“Can you get me a spice bag from Gino’s?”

“As long as you tell me you won’t be saying things you shouldn’t know about this neighborhood in front of the others, I’ll even get you some iced tea.”

“I promise that was deliberate. Time traveling a decade into the past sucks a lot of energy out of you, who knew?”

Remus sighed as he got up to fetch his shoes. Harry giggled as he walked back up stairs, pretending he didn’t see Moody staring at him.

He slips inside the room just as he hears Molly screeching and the sounds of pans falling.

“FRED & GEORGE WEASLEY! IN ALL MY YEARS, I’VE NEVER-” He firmly shuts the door and winces as he still hears the muffle of the woman through it.

He casts a mirage of charms and sighs in relief when the room is as quiet as can be and cooler than it had been a second ago.

“Fred owes me 20 galleons, then,” Charlie’s voice floats from behind. Harry makes sure the man sees him rolling his eyes as he turns to face him.

“You’re not sneaky,” he bluntly informs him.

“I wasn’t trying to be,” the man shrugs. He sits back on the bed and cocks his head as he looks him over. Harry is well aware it isn’t what it would have been in the future, but he still feels himself flush the slightest bit.

Amusement enters Charlie’s gaze.

“You and me, then?”

“Sod off,” Harry makes himself comfortable next to him and swats him when he’s nudged with a socked foot.

“No way, you’ve time travelled. That’s the most interesting thing that’s happened all year and I work with dragons for a living.”

“I’m well aware.”

“I’m sure you are.”

“Stop sounding smug before I tell Sirius about our future and he tries to castrate you.”

“Shutting up.”

“That’s the wisest thing you’ve ever done.”

“Is this how we are in the future?”

“No comment.”

“Convenient.”

“Do you want your memories returned or not, you incorrigible man?”

“We can do that?”

Harry rolled his eyes again.

“If you’d stop teasing, you’d know.”

“What do I need to do?”

“Give me your hands and try not to cringe.”

“It’ll be fine, I’m sure.”

“You’re oddly confident for someone who’s never did this before.”

“If you’re involved with me in the future then you know I’ve trusted worse people with deeper things.”

“That’s not reassuring,” but Harry closed his eyes and began chanting before the dragon tamer could quip back. And then, Charlie’s shoulders slumped as his mind began to open. Eyes dazed as new information slotted into place, his waiting soul merging with his current being.

In the future, George nearly pisses himself as a sleeping Charlie began to fade just as they watched Harry do three hours ago. Blearily, he realizes that this must mean the younger man succeeded. He sends an anigamus Neville’s way and checks that his apartment wards are open for the man to enter and see their notes before settling in and waiting for his turn.

Charlie wakes up to a room that certainly didn’t belong to his brother, head pounding, and cooler than he should be in a heated apartment in winter.

But then, he opens his eyes and sees a teenage Harry, and he doesn’t quite care.

“Tell me it worked,” he squinted at the boy, not entirely sure he wasn’t imagining him. Harry smiled and merrily pinched him, snorting as he yelped and massaged his arm.

“Brat.”

“You asked for reassurance,” he shrugged.

“Why Grimmauld, and who else is here?”

“Someone took me here instead of Poppy’s wing after I apparently passed out. Hermione says Neville talked to Malfoy of all people for a second and he was all pale as he went to distract Umbridge.”

“Ah, that would be the orgin story being put to work, then.”

Harry blinked.

“Pardon?”

Charlie sat up as he laughed.

“Neville was determined to take it to his grave, but he and Dray didn’t get together after years of hate sex or whatever they tried telling you lot. They got into an argument around this time after one of the first year Slytherin’s had a detention with that bitch. Neville ran into them and helped the poor kid, but Malfoy found them whispering and accused him of hurting them. Poor lad had to watch them bicker before Malfoy told Neville to move and was then scarred for life when he said “Make me.” Nev was dragged into the supply closet and poor Sander heard a series of suspicious noises before running away.”

“That sounds a lot like this Sanders told you rather than Neville himself.”

“You’d be correct,” Charlie smirked.

“You told him you knew.”

“I did.”

“And?“

“He threatened to turn my arse a new shade of red never seen before if I told anyone else.”

“I’ll be sure to tell him in the future, then.”

“You’re so mean to me, Hare.”

“If I were truly mean, I would sic Sirius on you.”

“Ah, I misspoke. You’re an angel.”

“How charming,” but Harry wasn’t as annoyed as he let on for he was hugging the older man even as he bickered. Charlie sighed as he truly took stock of the situation. They had a lot facing them in the future, but he’d be damned if he let his friend face it alone.

“Fred’s doing okay?”

Harry rubbed his back soothingly.

“More than. And we’ll keep it that way. Wanna see him while I do the ritual with George?”

“Please.”

“I told Sirius and Bill first. Remus knows about the time travel, but I left it to those two to fill him in on the details. They still don’t know about you and George, but that’s for us to decide after we’ve all settled in a bit.”

“Well, I don’t fancy being shred into bits because of a relationship that won’t be revived anytime soon. But, if you’re positive those two won’t tear my dick off at the mere concept, I suppose I don’t quite care.”

Harry snickered as he got up.

“Don’t worry, they’ll be too busy gnawking on Bill.”

Charlie grunted in displeasure at that particular image, then yelled as the brat ran out the door.

“Wait, what the bloody hell does that mean?!”

TBC.