I Don't Think We're In 1996 Anymore

[meleny]

When: September 5th 1976 - Morning
Where: Black Lake
Who: Meleny Aldridge, Harry Potter, Open
OOC Notes: Thread closed and archived due to loss of player for Meleny Aldridge

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Meleny was lying in bed in her dormitory. Only it didn't look like her dormitory in the year 1996. It looked slightly different. She hadn't even gotten up yet but somehow she knew something wasn't right. When she woke up a few hours ago she picked up a daily prophet on the nightstand and it said the year was 1976. 1976?! Meleny bolted upright in bed and blinked for a few minutes. Surely her eyes were playing tricks on her. How could she be in 1976, the exact year her parents were dating? Meleny stared up at the ceiling collecting her thoughts. She was still flabbergasted that somehow she woke up in a time period where her mother was alive and well albeit a teenager with no idea that she or her twin sister Jezebel existed. In her era Meleny had closed her eyes on a very dark day. Her adult mother had been murdered by her death eater father, her twin sister had beaten her to make the point that she was a weakling without the ability to do magic freely since Meleny was not seventeen yet. Her father used a high dose of the cruciatus curse on on her just to torture her because he loved making her suffer and so did Jezebel. Her sister wanted desperately to become a death eater.

After she had been made to suffer physically she watched her father murder her mother with two simple words; avada kedavra. Meleny almost considered dying with her mother because for one reason the pain of the cruciatus curse was the worst kind of suffering and she didn't want her mother to suffer at all. However Meleny didn't. She couldn't die without avenging her mother's death. The event itself was enough to make her suffer emotionally and the guilt and hopeless feeling that plagues her at night and every waking moment of her life was enough to make her suffer psychologically. It gave her horrible nightmares but now that was all irrelevant now but still very much fresh in her mind. Her mother was alive in this time period but unfortunately was dating her future murderer. She feared crossing paths with her father in this era because she didn't know how to explain how she and Jezebel also had the name Aldridge. Her sister looked more like their father than she did so she was the one who would have to explain it if they met him. Meleny also detested Slytherins and she could kill him for what he would do in the future but she couldn't mess with the past or alter the future.

Meleny finally decided to get out of bed and see if she could find anyone from her era that was in the past. She just hoped she didn't see her sister because she was still upset. Her sister always knew how to push her buttons, knew exactly how to get under her skin. A few hours later Meleny was dressed, she was showered, her hair was brushed and looked like less of a rat's nest and she had on makeup to cover a scar left from the confrontation in the future. She walked out of the dorm and down to the black lake. However she regretted getting out of bed immediately as soon as she took the first step. When she went to bed last night she was extremely sore from exposure to the cruciatus curse and she had a scar and a black eye which she used concealer products to cover. How could all her wounds and scars from the future still be there if she's in the past where the event is yet to occur? She didn't know how time travel worked but she assumed that marks from a future event would dissapear or something. Meleny just sighed and shrugged as best she could and sat down by the lake to rest her aching legs.

[Harry James Potter]

Harry had met his mum and his godfather, AND he met up with Ginny already. It was turning out to be a good experience for Harry at the moment, especially since he had gotten it through is thick skull that there was nothing he could do but wait to get back to his own time. He just needed to relax and be like a normal kid. A normal kid who was in Quidditch... and well was orphaned still, since his parents couldn't know that he was their son. Yes it would go over well if he were to go up to James and Lily and say 'Hi my name is Harry Potter, I'm your future son. Yeah I know it sounds crazy, but next year you two learn how to love each other and have me four years from now'. He would earn himself a one way ticket to the insanity ward in St. Mungo's.


Harry had still not gotten over the weirdness of being around his parents that were his age, not knowing that they were 20 years older in his time, and well dead. While Harry still hadn't met Remus or Peter or James in the group common room or any where in the castle, he was still happy to have met Sirius and Lily, even if those two hated each other at the time. Harry found this almost humorous yet saddening at the same time. James and Lily only had three years of happiness together before they died to protect their son. He felt bad, and almost wished that they just let Voldemort kill him (Harry) instead of the two of them and then they could have more of a family and other kids and each other for their whole life.

Instead of dwelling on the past... or technically right now it was the future, Harry had decided to get some fresh air, maybe use a school broom and take a ride. Harry walked down the stairs and towards the grounds. When he was there he took a deep breathe of fresh air which was almost intoxicating, since he had been in the castle way too much since he had gotten there. Harry spotted a familiar hut in the distance, but he couldn't let his want to see Hagrid overpower his want to keep things from suspicion. Harry wanted to be a normal kid, but he wanted it to be where he didn't have to pretend to be someone else from a different place. He wanted just to be himself, and keep no secrets from those he loved, or at least not as many secrets. Harry walked towards the lake, trying to keep his mind straight and trying to remember to stay focused and not reveal too much.

Harry spotted someone already sitting at the lake. At first he was scared that it was someone who wouldn't take too kindly to his looks of his father, since there were many people who didn't seem to like James and thought that he was James before spying his eyes. Then Harry recognized her. Harry walked up and stood next to her with a straight face. "Hi Meleny," Harry said, "You came here too?"

[meleny]

Meleny looked up when she heard Harry's voice and she smiled. She was so glad to see another familiar face in the past from her time. She would've gotten up to greet him but she was afraid o aggravating the pain she felt. Whenever she was sitting or lying down she never felt the lingering pain. It was only when she was on her feet for a long period of time. "Hey Harry. Yeah I did. I don't know how I got here but here I am. One minute I'm in my dorm in 1996 and the next thing I wake up in the same dorm only different and suddenly it's 1976."

"I was kind of scared when I first woke up. First of all because I realized that my parents are dating at this time. I don't know what my mother ever saw in him because you and I both know that in our time he abuses me and kills her. I mean I am actually glad to see my mother alive so technically her death in the future is irrelevant right now, isn't it? Sometimes I wish I could keep them from meeting but I can't alter the future although I would be perfectly fine if Jezebel was never born but then that means I wouldn't be either. I'm just nervous about meeting them as teenagers. From what my mother has told me in this time period my father is already a death eater but she doesn't find out until after they get engaged after she's graduated. Then she breaks up with him. My mother is my age and my father is seventeen and a Slytherin."she explained.

"I don't know if there's anyone else here from our time. I haven't seen my sister since I got here which is a good thing. Can you imagine us having to explain to seventeen year old Emery Aldridge why Jezebel and I are named Aldridge? My sister has all his genes and I have everything from my mother but we look identical. I haven't exactly thought of how I am going to explain any of this. So how is being stuck in the past working out for you?"she asked. She suddenly remembered the pendant her mother had given her in the future as a gift. It was shaped like a lioness. She wondered if her teenage parents seeing that would alter the future in anyway. Meleny hadn't been able to bring herself to take it off at all because it was a reminder no matter how much it hurt to be reminded.

[Harry James Potter]

Harry wanted to chuckle, but it was a time to be serious. Why did he want to chuckle? Harry had no clue. Harry forced himself to focus and reply to what she had said. It was the same thing for him at before as well. Harry didn't smile, because he knew he had to be serious and smiling would just encourage him not to be serious. "I know, I woke up like that too. Dumbledore told me to pose as someone transferring from America, you should do that too," Harry said factually letting a small smile escape. How could he not be happy right now? He already met two of the most important people in his life that were taken away from him, and he was surely going to meet his father and Remus Lupin from this time. And he might meet a Weasley or two. AND maybe he could save the world from Voldemort killing his parents and so many years of grief, which in turn... might save Meleny's mother.

"If I have anything to say about it, your father won't kill your mother. I mean if I defeat Voldemort now, then the Death Eaters will be disbanded and maybe... maybe your father will change because there isn't anyone to edge him on. At the very least," Harry began confidently, though he wasn't sure if he could defeat Voldemort anytime soon, seeing as he didn't have the materials or the experience, but he would sure try, "Since we know when your father does it, we can prevent it and intervene or something. And I know what you mean about how future deaths shouldn't really matter, but they still do, you still went through their death and having someone you cared about ripped away from you and then a new piece tries to fill the void, the new piece being the younger versions, it just doesn't quite fit, but it sure does help fill the void." Harry knew that the Sirius he met wouldn't be the same Sirius that he loved and cherish, very close, but not quite. Sirius in 1976 was a lot less mature, and hadn't been to prison, and wasn't yet the Sirius knew, and by the time he was Harry would already have sealed up the void, but he was awfully close, and close enough that Harry didn't really mind.

"I've already met up with Ginny, she's been scared to meet her parents just like you," Harry replied with only a small smile, thinking about his talk with Ginny and how now she'd offer money to Harry and how he'd be the one refusing it, "But yeah, I've already faced some of that weirdness, I mean my mum and dad are my age right now. I think that you could go with some distant relative to your father, something so distant that he'd have no clue whether it was true or not. I'm posing as my father's 9th cousin twice removed, a little too close, but not too close nonetheless.... As for how it's been going, well it's been great. I've already met two very important people to me. Sirius Black and Lily Evans. Godfather and Mum. Funny how they hate each other, but next year they'll become nice and friendly when mum and dad start dating."

[meleny]

Meleny smiled at the mention of Dumbledore. She missed the Dumbledore of her time even though she assumed he was also the headmaster in 1976. She wondered if he would be the same or any different than the Dumbledore of 1996. "That does sound like a good idea. Dumbledore always was extremely wise. I don't know what we would do without him or how we would ever survive in the past without his guidance."she said.

She thought about what he said. His plan to defeat Voldemort now before he gets too powerful to be stopped sounded like a good plan but it also sounded like a very hefty task. It all made perfect sense and the formation of the death eaters was one past event she was looking to stop since it's pretty much what had ruined her life. All her life she had wondered what it would be like if her father was never a death eater. Would that mean Jezebel changes as well if the death eaters never existed or would she simply never be born? "I wonder if all that were to happen, would Jezebel change too or would she just simply not be born at all? It's obvious she was born evil and my father's genes and the influence of Voldemort probably had a lot to do with that. I always wondered what it would be like to have a normal father and sister who is my best friend instead of a crazy bitch who wants me dead."

Meleny thought about the idea of claiming she is a distant cousin of her father's. "ok. what should I say to my insane sister when I see her? I don't know if she's here or not but if she woke up in the past version of the Slytherin dormitories I don't think she has any idea what a delicate situation we're in. If anything she would try and keep me out of the way so she can become a death eater. She's the type to not listen to anything anyone tells her even if its Dumbledore and I'm just so afraid of her doing something to ruin everything to keep the future the way we left it."she said. She may hate her sister but she had a feeling they would have to work together to make the ruse believable or the future is screwed. She knew if Jezebel was left to her own devices there is no telling what kind of mess she would have to clean up or how any of her actions in the past could seriously alter the future. Her sister never listened to anything she said but she had to understand that this is not the time to play games or be difficult. She wished her sister could stop worrying about herself for like five minutes a day and cooperate with her but that was impossible and probably asking too much for someone like her. She didn't think she could do any of this alone on top of keeping her twin out of trouble in the past.