Harry opened his eyes and groaned. Everything hurt, and he couldn’t move properly. Something seemed to be wrong; but what was it? He looked around and wondered where he was. He seemed to be in the Potions classroom, but… what was he doing here? Then he remembered the Potions lesson and his accident and thought ‘Where have they all gone? Why did they just leave me here? Where’s Hermione?’

Hearing sounds from the front of the classroom, Harry tried to look where the sounds were coming from and noticed someone in black robes, huddled over a cauldron at the front row. Even if this was Snape, he would have to ask for help, but he was in so much pain that only a groan escaped his lips, before he closed his eyes and tried to occlude his mind in order to push the pain away.

-----

Severus Snape, a Slytherin student in his 6th year, was just brewing an experimental Potion for a special project when he heard strange sounds from behind. He turned around and saw a student lying on the floor near the door wincing in pain.

“Potter,” he gasped. “What are you doing here? What happened?” He hated the Gryffindor, but as he obviously seemed to be in pain, he couldn’t just ignore him.

“Please help me Professor, it hurts,” Harry mumbled.

“Professor? Did you hit your head or something, Potter?” He eyed his rival suspiciously. Was this a prank, or had Potter just gone mad?

“If you hadn’t insulted me as always, my Potion would never have exploded. Could you please either help me to get up or call one of my friends for me?” Harry asked.

“I don’t know what you are talking about Potter, but I will take you to the Hospital Wing anyway,” Severus replied, moving to help the Gryffindor up.

“No, not to the Hospital Wing, I just want to return to my dormitory Professor, please, I’ll be fine,” Harry pleaded.

However, Severus, who noticed how exhausted Harry’s voice sounded, said, “No, I don’t think so.” He levitated Harry to the Hospital Wing, where he put him on a bed and went to get Madam Pomfrey.

She hurried into the wing and asked Severus, “What happened and why is it you to bring him here?” She took an astonished look at Harry and gasped. She could not believe her eyes. “What have you done to your eyes Mr. Potter, and where did you get that scar?”

Harry, who was too much in pain to even notice how much younger they both looked and that even Severus’ voice sounded different than before, felt totally annoyed. He groaned. “You know the colour of my eyes and you have seen my scar often enough. Are you trying to harass me as well? Bad enough to be brought here by Snape. Maybe you could just give me a Potion for pain so I could be on my way back to my dormitory.”

“If you ask me, Madam Pomfrey, he has hit his head. He suddenly keeps calling me ‘Professor,’” said Severus.

“Mr. Snape, please go and get Professor Dumbledore immediately.” She waved her wand over Harry. “Now, Mr. Potter, what did you manage to do to put yourself into this amount of pain?”

Harry sighed. ‘Why can’t she just give me a pain relieving Potion and let me sleep?’ he thought but tried to explain, “It was a Potions accident. We were brewing the Esnopia Potion, and the greasy git – sorry, I mean Professor Snape – insulted me so much that I really lost it and threw in all ingredients at the same time. Then the Potion exploded, and the next thing I knew was that I was lying on the floor of the Potions classroom and everything hurt. I don’t know why none of my classmates took me with them.” ‘Maybe Snape put them under the Imperius curse in order to prolong my suffering’ he thought.

-----

Professor Dumbledore came with Professor McGonagall and Severus in tow just in time to hear Harry’s last sentence.

“Good evening, my boy. I assume you are Mr. Potter?”

“Of course, I am. What is wrong with you all? Even Madam Pomfrey was trying to harass me because of my scar. You have known me for five years now. Have I changed somehow or what is wrong today?” He was starting to get really upset. Couldn’t they see that he was in pain and had no intention on playing silly games?

“Mr. Potter, try to be a bit more polite and cooperative. We don’t know what is wrong with you, and we are just trying to help you,” snapped Professor McGonagall.

Harry looked up and his eyes grew bigger as he noticed that his Head of House looked different. “You look so young Professor, wow!” he commented.

“Why, thank you Mr. Potter.”

“Maybe Mr. Potter, you could tell us a little about yourself. Am I correct in my assumption that you are related to our James Potter?” Dumbledore asked calmly.

“James? James was my father. I am Harry James Potter. Um…Professor, what is wrong? What happened?” He glanced at the teachers, confused.

McGonagall gasped, while Dumbledore looked amused and his eyes were twinkling madly. Pomfrey seemed as if nothing could really shock her, and Severus did not show any emotions, although his stomach was doing flip-flops and he groaned inwardly. ‘A son of James Potter – could things even get worse?’ he thought.

“Oh, my dear boy. How did you manage to come back to the past? It is the year 1976.” Ignoring Harry’s gasp, he asked, “Which year do you come from? Are you attending Hogwarts in your time, and in which house and year are you?” Dumbledore asked.

Harry was so shocked that he could only stare from one person to the next. He was in the past? And his parents? They were here at the same time? His thoughts were going haywire. Finally he managed to answer, “If that is so, I come from 20 years in the future, and I am a Gryffindor 6th year. I don’t know how I came here, it was a Potions accident.”

Madam Pomfrey interrupted them. “As he is obviously in pain, maybe we should try to help him first,” she said and then addressed Snape. “Severus, he told me he was brewing the Esnopia Potion and inserted all ingredients at the same time. As a result, he came here and now he seems to be in a lot of pain. Do you know this Potion, and do you know how to counter it, or do we have to call Professor Slughorn? Will the pain just go away with pain relievers?”

Severus thought for a moment and said, “no, probably not. You will need a Potion of the same ingredients together with a special ingredient to counteract the effects, like for example a Bezoar. I can brew the Potion for him, but it will take about an hour.”

“That would be good, thank you my boy,” Professor Dumbledore threw in. “Could you brew it immediately and come back to let Harry drink the Potion as soon as possible please?”

“All right. I will go and make the counter Potion, but it will only help to kill the pain; how we can send him back to the future, I have no clue.”

“Of course, Severus, Harry will just have to stay here for the time being, but maybe during the next weeks or months you and Harry can get together and do some research about time travel with Potions?”

“Yes Professor, I would like to do that,” Severus replied with a small rare smile.

“Okay, but I am not good at Potions,” Harry mumbled and groaned inwardly. Bad enough that he had managed to catapult himself into the past, now his hope of a return to his own time depended on a younger version of the greasy git and his own non-existent Potions abilities. Could it get worse?

“Mr. Potter, we will leave you here for the night. Severus will bring the Potion for you as soon as it is ready, and Professor McGonagall will collect you here tomorrow morning to escort you to my office before breakfast. As the fact that you are related to James Potter is more than obvious, we will have to give you a new name. What about Harry Pane? We will think about everything else tomorrow morning. Good night Harry.”

“Good night Professors.”

Harry was woken up an hour later by Severus, who helped him to sit up and drink the Potion he brought. Harry felt better immediately and visibly relaxed. “Thank you, Severus,” Harry mumbled. “And…”

“What?” asked Severus.

“Um… I think I have to apologize for insulting you. I was very angry with your future self, but not at you. Therefore, I am sorry. And thanks for brewing the Potion for me even though I had been insulting you,” Harry said, anxiously playing with his bed covers. Finally, he looked up and received one of the rare smiles of Severus.

“You are welcome, Harry. It’s all right, I am sorry myself, I was not very friendly to you because I assumed you were your father, and we do not have too good a relationship.”

“I know, but maybe we can try to have a better one, okay? I am in Gryffindor, although the Sorting Hat originally wanted to place me in Slytherin, but I am not my father, and as much as I have heard about him, I must be very different from him.”

“Let’s try anyway; maybe we can change the future a little. Good night, Harry.”

“Good night, and thanks again for the Potion Severus.”

“You’re welcome.”

-----

In the morning, Harry woke up and immediately remembered the events of the day before. Being goaded into a Potions accident by the greasy git Snape, only to arrive in the past and make friends with a 20 year younger Snape – what a crazy day! Now he was in the past. Would he ever be able to go back to the future to see his friends? However, as far as he had understood the evening before, his parents should be here as well. Would they be in the same year? Would they have classes together? Suddenly he was getting very excited. ‘What will they say when they hear their son is here? Will I be able to talk to them about it at all? I have to be careful not to change the future, haven’t I?’

He had just taken a shower and dressed when Professor McGonagall arrived to take him to the Headmaster’s Office. On the way there, Harry noticed that nothing had really changed from his own time.

“Professor, which year are my parents in now?” he asked, curious.

“I suspect your mother is Lily Evans?” she questioned.

“Yes, Professor.” He noticed the teacher glancing at him with a rare, small smile but could not rightly understand the reason. He even caught something in her eyes that seemed like pride – but could that be? What could it mean?

“Then both of them are 6th year Gryffindors. Chocolate frogs,” she said to the Gargoyle in front of Dumbledore’s office.

Harry was getting even more excited. 6th year Gryffindors? Then he would be in the same House AND in the same year as his parents! He quickly stumbled up the stairs after the professor.

-----

“Good morning, Minerva, Harry. I hope you are well on this fine morning. Lemon drop?” the headmaster greeted them in his usual lemon drop way.

“Now Harry, we have to decide a few things. First of all, your name is Harry Pane; will that be okay for you?”

“Of course, Professor, no problem.” ‘However, will anybody believe that, if I look like my father?’ he thought, slightly confused about the necessity of a name change.

“Another point is that nobody should know about the fact that you come from the future. We have to tell them a story, maybe that you are an exchange student from abroad. You even should not talk to us about anything, but as I suppose it is necessary for you to have someone to confide in, I propose that you talk to Professor McGonagall and me about everything you wish, and we will see that we will be put under a memory charm before you go back to the future.”

“Okay, thank you Professors. I appreciate that very much,” Harry answered with a nod, glad that he would have someone to talk to. He suddenly remembered Severus, but Dumbledore was talking before he could ask anything.

“And also, Severus already knows about you, so you can speak about certain things with him as well, but try not to change the future too much and make sure that you keep your matters between the two of you. Severus is as much in need of a good friend as you are at the moment, so I hope you will get along well in spite of what I heard you say yesterday.”

“Yes, Professor, we talked for a while yesterday evening and already decided to at least try to act civilly towards each other if nothing else.”

“And Madam Pomfrey knows as well, but as a healer she is bound to keep secrets, so there is no need to worry.”

-----

“Very well. As you came by a Potions accident, I assume that you don’t have any belongings with you, am I correct?” Dumbledore asked.

“Yes, Professor, I mean, no, I don’t have anything, but I don’t have any money to buy anything either. What am I supposed to do?”

“Don’t worry, Harry, we have certain funds for students like you who are in need. One of our teachers will take you to Hogsmeade today to get your books, clothes and what else you need. And a broom, in case you play Quidditch,” Dumbledore continued.

“Thank you very much, I really appreciate it, and I am sure that I will be able to pay everything back to you as soon as I return to my own time. I have been playing seeker for the Gryffindor Quidditch team since my first year, and I would like to play, if there would be any chance to.”

Professor McGonagall gasped. “First year? Who was Head of Gryffindor at your time? Students are not allowed to play in their first year!”

Harry could not help laughing. “You, my dear Professor, are my Head of House, and it was you who noticed me during my first ride on a broom, talked your Quidditch captain into taking me as Seeker and convinced Professor Dumbledore to forget the fact that I was a first year. You even enjoyed quite a fight with Professor Snape about it.”

Professor McGonagall shook her head. “I must have become really old in your time. Anyway, I will take you to Hogsmeade today, and we will also buy a broom for you. Gryffindor is just in need of a new Seeker, and I will have a word with your father, our Quidditch captain, about you. Please meet me in the Entrance Hall at 11 o’clock.”

“All right Professor, thank you very much,” Harry answered, quite relieved.

-----

Professor Dumbledore addressed Harry again. “Although I know that you already have been sorted in your time, the Hogwarts rules require a sorting at this time. Are you ready to talk to the Sorting Hat again?”

Harry looked up to the shelf, where he knew the Sorting Hat was placed, smiled, and said, “Of course Professor.”

Professor McGonagall fetched the Sorting Hat from the shelf and put it over Harry’s head.

‘Oh, Mr. Potter, what is your name now, Mr. Pane? I know you, I have sorted you before, and even after that we have talked several times. I have told you every time, that you could be great in Slytherin, but you always preferred Gryffindor. How about Slytherin this time?’

Harry frowned. ‘You know, I believe I could do well in Slytherin, but as you probably know, my parents are in the same year as I am. And although I have never known my parents, I know that they would despise me if I were in Slytherin. So in order to get to know my parents this time, I would really appreciate it if you could sort me into Gryffindor once more.’

‘Okay, let’s do that this time once more, but I can promise you, the next time I get to sort you, you will end up in a different house! So this time it will be’ “GRYFFINDOR!”

Relieved Harry pulled the hat of his head and handed it to Professor McGonagall.

“That took quite a bit time Mr. Potter. Were you talking to the Hat, or did it just need that much time to decide?” Dumbledore asked, his eyes twinkling.

“Um… sorry. Yes, we had some sort of … ah … discussion. When I was sorted for the first time, it originally wanted to place me in Slytherin and said I could do well in both houses, but I talked it out of it. And I have had several more conversations with the Hat here in the office after that. So this time, it suggested that maybe I should try Slytherin. I would have really liked that, but I know for a fact that my father and his friends would have despised me if I was in Slytherin, so I explained that I would like to get to know my parents and asked the hat to just leave me in Gryffindor and it agreed,” he answered in a rush voice.

McGonagall frowned. “I didn’t know that students could have any influence on which house they were put in, Albus. Do you think that is normal?” Minerva whispered to Dumbledore.

“I don’t know Minerva, but I will have a little talk with the hat later,” he Headmaster answered calmly.

-----

“So Harry, you will share your classes and even your dormitory with your parents.”

“And with my godfather Sirius and my ‘nearly godfather’ Remus. They are in Gryffindor as well, aren’t they?”

“Yes, they are. Do you think you will be able not to reveal yourself to either of them?” Harry frowned.

“I cannot promise that I will succeed, but I give you my word that I will try the best I can.”

“That has to be enough my boy, but please do try your best. And when you encounter any problems, come to speak to Minerva or myself. And now let’s head down to breakfast.”

When they arrived at the Great Hall, Professor McGonagall escorted Harry to the Gryffindor table and introduced him to Lily Evans and Remus Lupin, the 6th year’s prefects. While Harry sat between them, Dumbledore addressed the students.

“Good morning to a new day at Hogwarts. Today we have a new student in our 6th year. His name is Harry Pane, he comes from a small private wizarding school in Germany, and he has already been sorted into Gryffindor. Please give him a friendly welcome to Hogwarts.”

-----

Harry immediately recognized Sirius’ excited voice, “Look James, he looks like a twin brother of you!” Harry was so glad to see Sirius alive and happy, that he threw a big smile in his direction, before he looked in awe at his 16-year-old father. He wanted to speak to his mother next to him, but he just didn’t know what to say, so he instead addressed Remus at his other side and asked him, “Are you all 6th years?”

Remus laughed. “Yes, the one over there with the dirty laugh is Sirius Black; next to him is James Potter, our Quidditch captain. The boy beside me is Peter Pettigrew, and as you know, the girl next to you is Lily Evans and beside her is her friend Alice. I am Remus Lupin. All of us are in our sixth year.”

“Thanks for the introduction Remus,” Harry said and thought ‘wow, that’s my father’s voice.’

“By the way, Harry, do you play Quidditch?” Remus asked him.

“Yes, in my old school I have been playing Seeker from first year onwards.”

“Are you any good?” James, who had heard the conversation asked, looking excited.

“In my five years I have only lost one game and that was because someone had placed Dementors around our school,” Harry answered, absently taking another piece of bacon.

“That sounds good. As we are only in need of a Seeker, I don’t want to have a big tryout. If you are interested, meet me on the pitch after dinner tonight.”

“Thank you, I would like that very much. Professor McGonagall is going to accompany me to Hogsmeade today, so that I can buy a broom.” Harry beamed with excitement. It would be just so great to play in his father’s Quidditch team. Harry nearly fell from his seat when suddenly Lily addressed him.

“When you are finished with your breakfast, I will take you to Professor McGonagall’s office, because you need to get your timetable from her, and you probably won’t find the way on your own.”

“Thanks. Err... I’m sorry to bother you.”

“That’s no problem, Harry. We have Transfiguration for the first lesson anyway, and the classroom is just next to her office. If you have any problems, be it finding your way to a class or anything, just ask Remus or me, we will always help you.”

“Thank you!”

After dinner, Remus, Sirius and Lily accompanied Harry to his Quidditch tryout. James and Harry played five seeker-against-seeker scrimmages. Harry soon noticed that his father was a good flyer, but not nearly as good as Harry. Everyone let out a loud gasp when Harry suddenly tumbled downwards, straight to the ground.