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Time War
By Mutt N Feathers

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Category: Pre-OotP, Alternate Universe
Characters:Harry/Ginny
Genres: Drama
Warnings: Intimate Sexual Situations, Mental Abuse, Mild Language, Mild Sexual Situations, Negative Alcohol Use
Rating: R
Reviews: 15
Summary: REPUBLISHED 5/2014
The final story in the Continuum/Ranimer/Growing Up with Mum and Dad arc. Can the Marauders and their children stop time from spiraling out of control or unleashing a fate worse than Voldemort in time? Please read the previous stories first so the time-travel aspects make sense.
Hitcount: Story Total: 64543; Chapter Total: 2585







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Chapter 6:
What did I do?


December 18, 1976
Hogwarts Castle


The Marauders were getting sick of the ugly and petulant mood Padfoot had been in since Wednesday night. He barely spoke, ate or bothered paying attention in class. He refused to go out to the Quidditch pitch with James and ignored every female who approached him. Most surprising, however, was his lack of concern for Anwen. He hadn’t even asked about her, and it was only Professor McGonagall and James who knew where she was.

James had taken a broken and defeated Anwen to Professor McGonagall early on Thursday morning. He explained how they’d been talking and discovered their relationship and he wanted to alert his parents, as Anwen had explained to him about her having to work over the holidays. He thought perhaps she’d like to be with family when she wasn’t working. The professor took in her heartbroken face and rumpled clothes and deduced there was more to the story, probably something involving the elder Black boy, but didn’t probe. James Potter might be mischievous, but he was honourable as well; she had no problem trusting him in this situation.

James fire called home and spoke with his father, who came to Hogwarts immediately. While Andrew Potter spoke quietly with his son and the newest member of the Potter clan, Professor McGonagall went to Gryffindor Tower to secure Anwen’s clothes and other personal items. Before most students had risen, James, Anwen and Andrew were gone from the grounds. James returned shortly before lunch, missing only one lesson in the hours he was gone. As he expected, his parents had been thrilled to discover their new relation. He also wasn’t surprised that his father deftly handled the music school and told them Anwen was unable to sing this year.

Much as he expected, his mother knew exactly what to do with the broken girl and had told James to give Sirius a ‘swift kick to his backside’ for what he’d done to her. James laughed, but knew he’d do exactly as his mother asked, as he didn’t need to be on her bad side for the holidays. He’d been granted permission to go home on Sunday, to have family dinner and check up on Anwen.

It was now mid-afternoon on Sunday, and James and Remus had endured just about as much as they were capable of. Peter had already escaped the black void which was their mate, opting to go to the library rather than be anywhere Sirius might actually show up. With a glance between the two boys, and then a long stare at the third, James knew he had to do something. After mouthing, You owe me, to Remus, James dove into the murky abyss which was his best friend. Remus left the room quietly and with a thankful heart.

“Sirius, what the bloody hell is wrong?” Prongs asked, able to guess what the answer would be.

“You already know,” Padfoot shot back.

Confirming it was the secret Anwen shared with him, James stood and roughly pulled his friend up off the common room couch and dragged him to their room. “Okay, Sirius, let it out. We can’t stand being around you. We accept that you’re moody as shite and likely to let your temper explode, but you’ve been ten times worse than usual. Keep it up and we’re moving your bed into the attic with that creepy ghost up there.”

“Fine,” Sirius shot back, “at least Lame Louis won’t expect anything from me.”

“So that’s what this is about, you don’t want any expectations to live up to?” He might be his best mate, but James really thought Sirius had gotten over this idea that he wasn’t ever going to be responsible to anyone.

“I’ve said over and over that I don’t do responsibility,” Padfoot growled.

“Fine, but what do you call our jaunts on the full moon?”

“Marauding.” The word came out as more of a sneer.

“Bull shite, Padfoot. You know exactly what it is; it’s us helping out a friend. What about the pact we made, the one stating we’d never let Moony be homeless or poor? We promised each other one of us would be there for him,” Prongs reminded.

Padfoot, unhappy with how his friend had managed to bring up the only thing he was proud of about himself said, “Fine, that is the one area of responsibility in my life. That’s it. I don’t want anyone else relying on me.”

Even as the words left him, he knew it wasn’t true; Anwen relied on him, and in turn, he relied on her. He’d known there was something about her that called to him. From the moment she playfully teased him on the train her first year, he could feel something different about her. She was most definitely more than just some girl, but being his soul mate? No one deserved that punishment.

While still irritated at James for butting into his perfectly acceptable grouchiness, he guessed he needed to talk about it with someone, and the only someone he could talk to was his best mate. Sirius flopped down on his bed, letting a tortured groan leave him. He had no idea what to do about this mess. He felt worse than he had over the summer when he became frustrated at Winnie and didn’t speak with her for weeks, or last year when she stopped speaking to him because he hadn’t told her about Moony. This was worse, but he couldn’t figure out why.

For his part, James wanted Sirius to bring up the subject of Anwen. Commonly he saw the exact moment his fellow Marauder thought of her. His eyes dilated and the tension in his shoulders and face disappeared. He knew it was weird to be told at seventeen you were part of some mythically mated couple. He couldn’t imagine if he got told the same thing. He also knew his friend had denied feeling anything for Anwen for so long it was likely Padfoot believed the lie he had spewed for years.

Following Padfoot’s lead, Prongs sat on his bed too, and waited for the subject to come up. After about five minutes, he picked up the novel Lily had given him to read, a Muggle book about an investigator named Sherlock Holmes. He was impressed with the story so far, and was glad to hear from her that there were several by the same author, featuring the character. It took nearly a half-hour for his silent roommate to finally speak.

“Is she holding up?” Padfoot asked.

“About as well as you’d expect for someone who had her life turned upside down and then had her best friend abandon her when he was needed most,” Prongs answered. There was no reason to sugarcoat it. “Have you ever considered this isn’t really about you?”

“Of course it is. I just found out I’m supposed to marry her and have a ton of kids. I don’t even think of her that way.” And so the lie continued.

“You’re missing the big point here: she is expected to stop a war. Her magic, her skill. She has like two years to embrace this visual magic stuff and then use it on a spell so complex that it took someone else fifty years to work out. Sirius, she’s going to be tutored on it by her one-hundred-and-something-year-old self. This is beyond wonky or even mind-blowing. She’s thirteen and she’s done a better job assimilating the information and accepting her role than even my Dad thought he could. You know him, nothing bothers my Dad.”

“Wait, how does your dad know?”

“Sirius, if she’s my cousin, then she’s Mum’s, too. I told them the next morning. She’s been disowned by her parents and is a ward of the school. I thought it would be good for her to know she had a magical family.”

“She has a family. I’m her family,” Padfoot jumped on the word, growling out his sentiment without thinking. He looked at Prongs who had his eyebrow cocked up in question. “Don’t say it.”

Prongs went back to reading, although this time he had a knowing smirk. Several minutes passed before Sirius spoke again.

“Did she leave for her concerts yesterday? Is she at the flat?”

This was going to lead to the discussion both of them dreaded, or at least James suspected it would. He closed the book and shifted so it was impossible for Sirius to avoid his gaze, unless he rolled over.

“You know, she’d give you anything you asked for, follow you to the ends of the earth, probably jump in front of a hex for you and you didn’t even realise she’s been gone since early Thursday morning. Oh, and no she isn’t at the flat.” James let his vitriol spill into his inflection a bit. Sirius needed to understand just what he’d done to her.

“Where the hell is she, then? Staying with that Walker family again? How is she going to get to our flat?” The questions poured out of Sirius, and James gave an uncontrolled guffaw at his friend’s naiveté.

“You expect her to stay with you? You been smoking that funny Muggle stuff again?”

“What? No. Why wouldn’t she come home?”

“Sirius, she was quite convinced by your behaviour Wednesday night and Thursday morning. She’s accepted your dismissal of ever being involved with her. I’m supposed to gather her things from the flat and return them to her. I’m not even sure she’ll ever return to Hogwarts,” James told him solemnly.

“What do you mean, not return? She’s gotta know I was just shocked, right? I mean, I don’t know about this whole marriage thing, but I’m not giving up on her friendship,” Sirius sputtered and stammered.

“You’re that selfish? You expect her to be here, as your friend, your little buddy, your personal break-up, clean-up brigade? She knows you’re supposed to be together, she already feels it and obviously embraced those feelings because she put up with your moody, greedy, selfish self,” James harshly rebuked. “It’s not a pick and choose sort of deal, Sirius. It’s all or nothing and don’t you dare go to her with some half-assed plan to make it easier on you. I won’t let you hurt her that way again.”

“Who are you to tell me how to handle my friendship with Anwen?”

James stood and looked down at his best mate. “I’m the one who had to help her escape here on Thursday morning. Her heart was so broken she never looked at anyone or said anything more than one word responses to questions. I’m the one who got my father to come and collect her and watched as he carried her through the Floo. I listened to her sob into my mother’s chest for hours, until it was just too much and I came back here. I also know where you spent Wednesday night and with whom, and so does she.”

Sirius stared at James, taking in what was said.

“Did you tell her where I was?” the he asked as he raked his hands through his hair before burying his face in his well-calloused palms.

“I didn’t need to tell her,” James threw back, “the map was open when she awoke at five. I’m quite certain it’s part of why she begged me to take her away from here. Honestly, Padfoot, did you have to take up Evelyn Ellerthrope? She’s only in fourth year because of where her birthday fell. She’s only a few months older than Anwen, but Winnie is smarter and more mature. Couldn’t you have just kept it in your pants for once?” James had finally had enough of his friend’s whoring around. He’d had one too many early morning mirror calls, begging him to bring clothes, shoes, books or potions to his friend. Far too many trips to the Apothecary in Hogsmeade to pick up said potions, the ones to prevent venereal diseases or pregnancy. James needed Sirius to grow up, and he needed him to do it soon. Anger was brewing within him, not just at how immature Sirius could be, but also at how his cousin was being hurt.

“How do you know we were fucking, huh? Maybe I was just talking to her?” Sirius shot back causing James to scoff loudly.

“Really, pray tell what would you be discussing with Evelyn? Hmmm, Death Eater plans? What meal her Mummy was preparing for the Dark Lord and his cronies? How her daddy intended to steal more money from Muggles? Or, perhaps you want your parents to get off your case, and you really are going over to the dark side.”

Sirius sprang off his bed and charged at James, fist pulled back to punch. James rolled off his bed and stood on the other side, in view but out of reach.

“Go ahead, hit me,” James bit back. “Hey, if you don’t like the message, don’t blame the messenger.” Sirius stopped and looked at his friend, his hand and what he’d been contemplating. He slid to the floor, thoroughly defeated. He was quiet for a long while. James went back to sitting on his bed, reading. After a bit of time, he checked his watch; there was less than an hour before his father would be here to pick him up for dinner.

Unlike many families of entitlement, the Potters did their formal meal in the evening, usually at seven. The Sunday noon meal had always been with his mother's family, the Nighmans. The older generations had made up quite a large group, but by the time it was down to James’ generation, there were only he and his cousin, Alice. Even she would be leaving the Nighman name soon, as she was engaged to Frank Longbottom. Over the years the gathering had become smaller and smaller, and now they only met every other week on Sunday noon. To have special time with the Potter family, Sunday dinner was always at Potter Manor for whoever wanted to come. Being so late in the year and so cold in Portree, most of James aunts and uncles had already left for Spain and the winter homes there. It was truly too bad, it would be special tonight as it was the first time Anwen would be included.

It was only when James rose from his bed and went to the wardrobe to select a set of robes to wear home that Sirius was brought back to reality. His head had been a quagmire of memories and emotions, the latter being something he usually attempted to avoid. If he took away her age, Anwen was truly the perfect person for him; he’d always been so hung up on how much younger she was. If he discarded that issue, she was quite perfect.

Thinking of her always made him feel warm and happy, like none of the evil in his life could touch him when she was with him. He had realised it was her in his love potion the first time he took a whiff of the one Professor Slughorn had made. Who else would smell like coffee and strawberries and sunshine? If he caught the briefest scent of the first two, he’d smile, and then look to see if she was near. The third was more enigmatic, given that sunshine didn’t usually have a smell; but Anwen had given it one. As he laid here on the dorm floor, he realised that home might not be a place, but the person who made you feel at peace and happy and… loved.

He wanted to choke on that last word, but he couldn’t. Anwen loved him. Anwen loved him despite his sleeping around and ignoring her. Anwen loved him regardless of how many times he ended up in detention. Anwen loved him more than anyone else had ever loved him in his life. Anwen loved him in a way that people who were happily married -- like the Potters -- did, even after fifty years together.

Unfortunately, Sirius couldn’t answer if he loved her back that way. He wasn’t sure he was capable of it. There was only one person who might be able to answer that question for him, and he had to talk to her.

“James, you going home for dinner?”

“Yes,” James Potter answered slowly. “Why?”

“I’d like to come with.”

James surveyed his friend for a moment. He certainly wasn’t looking like the sullen oaf he’d been subjected to for the last four days; but was that enough?

“If you’re just looking for Mum’s roast beef and pudding, I’ll bring you back a plate,” James stated and Sirius looked hurt. “You going to talk to her?”

“I want to, but only after I talk with your mum,” Sirius explained. James nodded in understanding, wondering if it was a good idea to take him home considering how raw Anwen had been when he last saw her.

“I can see discussing it with Mum, but you can’t hurt her again, Sirius. If this is just you figuring out how to say goodbye to her, then write a letter. You can’t gut her again, I will not let you --”

“Hey!” Sirius exclaimed as he rose from the floor. “I’m not gonna hurt her. She loves me. She loves me more than any damned person on this planet. I can’t hurt her again. I won’t do it.”

James cocked his head at his friend and gave him a long, hard stare. “So, you’ve figured out you’re in love with her?” Sirius avoided eye contact with his best mate, and shuffled his weight on his feet. “No, you can’t go home and acknowledge her love and not return it. I won’t take you with me --”

Sirius had begun waving his hands in front of himself, as if he were attempting to avoid a passed Quaffle in a match. “It’s not that, James.”

“Then what is it?”

“I don’t know what love is, man. I think I do, but I’ve never had anyone to love. Not even my parents. They had me because they had to, I was a contractual obligation. I need to ask your mum if what I’m feeling is love, because I’m just not sure.”

James hung his head, embarrassed at what he’d said to his mate. After a minute, he looked to Sirius, who shrugged, and they both let the moment pass.

“Get dressed,” James directed. “Dad will be here in five.”

TW TW TW TW TW


Julia Potter watched in awe as the young girl who had been weeping only twenty-four hours ago, was now cheerfully singing while she finished James’ favourite pudding, a sponge cake with deep chocolate icing. In some ways, Anwen had been an answer to her prayers. Julia had dreamed of having a little girl after her Jimmy was born, but life hadn’t worked out that way. Now, sixteen years later, this beautiful and spirited young woman was in her home, desperate for motherly love and care. After only a few days, both she and Andrew absolutely loved her, and they had wondered why her parents would have terminated their parental rights. Andrew was looking into it, and they hoped to have a surprise for her for Christmas.

Anwen had been singing a peppy little French tune while she worked, and it made the kitchen work seem so much easier. As she finished, Julia slid her wand into her apron waistband and began clapping.

“Brava, Brava,” the older woman cheered. “Now, my dear, I want to know what the words meant. My French is poor at best, and some of those words simply flew by.”

“Fine, I’ll tell you, just promise you won’t get angry.”

“Why would I be angry?” Julia responded before taking the few steps so she was on the same side of the workbench as Anwen and her cake. “You’re such a sweet girl.” The elder woman ran her hand down the younger’s hair and neck and Anwen leaned into the affectionate hand.

“The song is about a young French maid who wants to learn about men. She stumbles upon a friar and plies him with beer so that she may look under his robes.” Both women started laughing so hard. “When I found out what the words meant, I honestly stammered and blushed.” Arms were wrapped and the two continued to laugh so hard their eyes began to tear up.

“Well, that has to be the most pleasant sound I’ve heard in ages,” a deep voice proclaimed, and both ladies looked up to see Andrew Potter in the door, a smile so deep his lips stretched close to the sides of his face. “Whatever caused such delightful laughter?”

“Why, French maids peeking under the friar’s robes, of course!” Anwen sputtered, causing a fresh round of giggles to erupt.

“You sound happier,” James stated and she nodded while smiling at him.

“Your parents are spectacular. They’ve helped ever so mu...” the word fell off as Anwen saw Sirius appear behind her cousin and his father. “Why are you here?” she asked him, her voice suddenly harsh and bitter.

“I wanted to talk with you.”

“I heard what you said the other night. I’ll be out of your life right soon. James has said he’ll get my belongings from your flat and bring them here. I’ll stay out of your way while you visit. I’ve lost my appetite, Aunt Julia, may I be excused, please?”

Julia Potter wanted to force the girl to stay and listen, but given that she had no inkling of what Sirius might say, it would be safer for her to stay in her room. With one last squeeze and a nod, the woman released the girl. Anwen wasted no time in retreating up the back stairs, purposefully avoiding Sirius’s presence in the main hallway.

James approached his mother, and she stood to greet him. As they embraced, James whispered in his mother’s ear, “He needs to talk to you, and then he wants to talk with her. He’s come around to the idea, at least I think he has.”

Julia slyly nodded against him and then went to hug Sirius.

“Help me, please,” he whispered in a defeated voice. Sirius had been shocked when Anwen ran away from him, without even giving him a chance to say anything.

"Gentlemen, why don't you go enjoy a firewhiskey by the fire? Sirius and I will be in the parlour," Julia announced more than suggested, and Andrew led James from the kitchen into his den. Sirius followed Julia into her favourite room, the place in the Potter home he felt least comfortable. It was formal and flowery and he was always concerned he'd break something while in it. Of all the rooms here, it was the one which most reminded him of Grimmauld Place, even though it was decorated in warm reds and golds. Julia was well aware of his tension as they entered, she intended to use it to her favour.



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