A Warning from the Shadows

Harry stared at the man in surprise as two of the three casually walked past him as if nothing had happened. The remaining cloaked figure stepped within striking range of Harry, and merely held his hand out. At first, the young man was puzzled before he realized what the Ministry employee wanted. Slowly he rose back to his feet, and placed the wand in the outstretched hands of the Unspeakable. As the man passed him, Harry turned to watch the three get in the elevator, and before he could turn to make his escape, the deep voice called out to him again, "And Mr Potter…Don't let us catch you in our department ever again. We will not be so lenient a third time."

Swallowing hard, Harry knew the man had to have seen a lot to know that Harry had broken into the Department of Mysteries before. Wanting to protest in his own defense he knew it was too late the doors to elevators closed.

Taking a moment to appreciate that Mr Weasley had missed the byplay between himself and the Unspeakables; he strode forward into a busy Ministry Atrium hoping that no further threats would present themselves. Harry contemplated his next step as he passed the busy Ministry employees.

Apparating was a possibility, but there was a concern that he could apparate into something he didn't know existed in this time. The Floo Network seemed to be the best decision for the time being. After all, the Leaky Cauldron had been around for decades at least, and landing in a familiar place to start his journey into Diagon Alley was an attractive option.

The first few steps Harry took in this new world would be crucial, and he knew it. Finding out what year it was would be a big help, but just as importantly he needed a wand in order to defend himself.

Judging by Mr Weasley's appearance Harry would guess that Fleamont had been right. While Harry was uncertain of the exact age of Mr Weasley the man couldn't have been much older than his own parents, and had appeared to be in his mid to late twenties if he had to guess.

That had to put him in the mid to late 70's. Information was crucial though, and errors could not be made this early into his journey as he searched for a Newspaper stand that might give him some guidance. Knowing the Daily Prophet sold papers in the atrium during his time he looked around for a stand in hope of finding answers.

"Daily Prophets right here, folks! Get your Daily Prophet. Foreboding symbol cast in the sky over Falmouth, what is the Ministry doing to protect our families?" A woman's voice called over the crowd catching Harry's attention.

Making his way towards a small stand by the Floo Network he laid eyes on a young witch who was disturbingly familiar to him. The young witch was easy on the eyes, and her blonde hair looked quite lovely in their long neatly done curls. She was wearing some simple glasses and her blue eyes seemed to be searching for a story. This must have been Rita Skeeter's entry job at the Daily Prophet Harry thought with a grimace.

The woman made eye contact with him as he approached the stand and gave him a sultry smile, "How about you, handsome, would you like today's Daily Prophet? I myself have a small piece towards the back about the upcoming Hogwarts School year and their new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor. He was an old veteran of the last war. A Black too, wouldn't you know? I bet that ought to really interest you, you look about Hogwarts age. Are you in your seventh year?"

Harry hadn't exactly gotten a good look at himself since arriving in this timeline. He was unsure if he looked the same as he had the moment he had been killed by Voldemort, and his followers or if things had changed. Deciding to take a safe approach Harry spoke with confidence, "I should actually be in my sixth year, but my parents think I am advanced enough to start preparing for my NEWTs this year. There is a possibility I will be starting Hogwarts as a seventh-year student."

Harry figured this was the safest answer he could give to the wannabe detective. Rita looked fascinated by his story, and not at all considering the fact that he could be lying. This gave Harry some credence that he must look at least close to his previous age as the woman exclaimed, "Oh, you must be quite the smart young man. What Wizarding school are you from?"

This made the boy think fast, "Ilvermony, but my family was from here."

Taking a glance at the headlines for the day he continued, "My father had a terrible fear of the dragon pox pandemic so sent me away when I was younger. Now that things are getting…more political on the homefront he decided it was time for me to come back home. I would actually love one of these papers. I will read about this new defense teacher, and hopefully get an idea of what he will be like."

Harry was pouring it on a little thick trying to sound young and confident, but he really just wanted to get away from Rita Skeeter. If anyone could sniff out a controversial story it was this woman right here.

The young woman smiled at him and asked for 6 sickles, but Harry gave her a galleon and asked for just a few sickles back in change. Finally, being dismissed by the woman he got a better look at the headline, "TERRIFYING SYMBOL LIGHTS UP THE SKY OF FALMOUTH."

Harry realized with wide eyes that this must have been the first time the world had seen the Dark Mark, and that things were obviously just now starting to heat up in this timeline. He looked for the date at the top right of the paper and stared in surprise, "31st July, 1976."

It was his birthday, or at least it would be in about 4 years. Harry sighed as he further pondered just what his leap through time had done to his appearance. Deciding it was time to get moving with his plans he took a deep breath and pushed himself toward the Floo Network.

Arriving at the Leaky Cauldron Harry looked around, and couldn't stop the slight smile that crossed his face. It would be fifteen years before he ever stepped foot into this pub in his timeline, but other than the crowd around the room you would never know it. It was the same dark and dinky little pub as it would be 15 years later. Some things, much to Harry's pleasure, were simply timeless.