Whose Universe Are We In?

Another Real Person character makes his entrance here - Tom Felton.

I do not know Tom or any of his doings. I mean him no harm or defamation. I own no part of the Potter-verse and as with all of this piece, it, and his inclusion within it is a complete and utter fiction. The Squig.

11

The school filled again and despite many and various charms around their rooms, Dan and Alan were always aware of a background hum that had been blissfully missing these last three weeks. It was with the utmost trepidation that they left their cosy quarters, their only home, and made their way to the Great Hall for the first meal of the new term.

There was gossip and whispers from all of the house tables as he sat beside Alan at the top table, even a few catcalls that were swiftly quashed, emitting from both the Gryffindor and the Slytherin tables that he strove hard to ignore. His schooldays were not Dan’s happiest memory. As a learning-afflicted child, he was never going to feel good at ‘normal’ school but in the midst of this elitist school for special skills and talented pupils he was bristling with fear and trying desperately not to let it show.

For his part, Alan could feel his lover’s discomfiture and didn’t have a clue what to do about it, his own schooldays having ended several decades ago. As they all sat to their meal, he couldn’t help but feel that this new integration was very ill-advised.

There was no Sorting, this being the third term of the year but there was the usual plethora of notices. In the midst of these, Albus Dumbledore casually mentioned that as Harry Potter was about to become of age then it was considered expedient to apprentice him to the Potions Master in a private arrangement for the time being. There were groans from the Gryffindors and sniggers from the Slytherins and Dan acted his head off looking suitably sullen and mutinous and Dan could have sworn he heard the muttered phrase ‘remedial potions’ a few times.

Well, he thought without letting the smile reach his lips, it could be, as neither he nor Alan had tried potions-making yet. He let himself fidget a little as the notices ended then glanced at the Gryffindor table. Ron nodded at him as their eyes met and Hermione smiled faintly; he would have to talk to them later.

He let his eyes roam, seeking out a white-blond head.....there, turned away from the headmaster, clearly carrying on a conversation with the lad beside him. Dan squinted his eyes, there was something odd about Malfoy that he couldn’t put his finger on. He had seen the boy only once in all the time he’d been there, then it struck him. In the books at any rate, Malfoy and Severus Snape shared a close comradeship, so why hadn’t Malfoy been a-calling upon his house-master and close family friend?

The blond spun around suddenly, as if he felt Dan’s eyes upon him and to Dan’s surprise, Malfoy looked a bit.....stunned, or something, Dan couldn’t figure it out, but it was a long way from the sneer he’d been expecting. Then, shaking his head in what looked like disgust, the boy turned back to his meal. Dan mused, ‘What the hell was all that about. Oh, crap, I hope Malfoy and Harry don’t have a sexual history, that’d be too weird’, and paid mind to his own repast.

****

The issue of potions study was resolved rather sooner than later when Poppy floo-called them and asked to come through. They sat her down with a drink and asked what they could do for her. “Well, chaps, I’m low on anti-allergens and sting potions so I’m going to need your help. Now I know neither of you is a potions master the likes of our Severus, but I’m sure you can chop and slice”.

Dan stopped her, “Doesn’t the chopping have to be awfully precise? You’ll have to demonstrate, but, yeah sure, I’d like to help”. She smiled at him then looked at Alan, who nodded, then asked, “When and where do you want us, Poppy?” She beamed then, “How about tomorrow after school is finished in your lab, the one behind the storeroom off the main classroom”. Alan’s brows rose, just how many laboratories did this man have? They made their arrangement and off she flooed.

Shortly after her departure, there was a knock at the outer door to their apartments. Alan sighed and answered it. Remus stood there, grinning. “I have come to accompany you on your rounds, old man. They are always done in pairs since.....ah, never mind. Shall we?”, and before he knew it, Alan was whisked off, leaving Dan alone.

Dan wasn’t too bothered at the idea of Remus and Alan together so he quickly settled to doing more scanning of documents and put them out of his mind for the time being.

They trailed all over the castle, rescuing errant first years from the wrong corridors, sorting out a fight between two third year girls that necessitated taking one of them to the infirmary with large purple boils on her face and rousting out a nasty little scene involving three older Ravenclaws and a first-year Hufflepuff ‘slave’ in, of all places, the Astronomy tower but at the very top, where most of the trysting took place.

It was as they were making there way back to the dungeons that they saw a sight that chilled them both: the normally sneering, unflappable Malfoy hammering weakly on the headmaster’s door before sliding down it into a blubbering, red-faced heap on the floor. Remus dashed over to the boy at once and crouched down beside him, Alan tentatively knelt at his other side.

Remus shot Alan a look and Alan put his arm gingerly around the boy, whereupon he flung himself against Alan’s chest, sobbing, “I can’t go back there, Severus. Where were you over the holidays? You could have prevented it, you could have stood up to my father”, the lad was almost shouting by now.

In a low voice, Alan asked what it was that he could have stopped and the lad wrenched himself away, ripping off buttons in his haste to tear back his cuff. His left forearm was revealed.....carrying a fresh Dark Mark. Alan’s face creased, his hand flew in front of his mouth. He couldn’t quite understand it, but in this story, he had to hope that perhaps Draco comes over to this side and isn’t a pawn of the dark. He’d have to ask Dan about it later.

For now though, he concentrated on the boy shrivelled before him. “I had no idea”, he ventured, wracking his brain, “I was given no intelligence and I wasn’t invited to your ‘ceremony’. I’ve had no feelings in my Mark. I wasn’t Summoned, Draco. I’m sorry. I only go to the Summons, you know that”.

The boy looked up into Alan’s face, “They don’t trust you. They say they have actually summoned you several times and you do not reply. I hoped you would guide me at least in this as I haven’t a fucking clue what I’m supposed to do and I’ve been kept from you since the incident at the astronomy tower and it’s all my fault, and I’m here too, a complete alien, and you think I’m a complete fucking idiot but I don’t fucking belong here”, and by the end of this speech, Draco Malfoy was weeping bitter tears once more, the very picture of dejection and sorrow.

Alan helped him to his feet and exchanged a look with Remus. Nope, the werewolf had no more idea of what the boy was talking about than he did. He held Draco lightly as he wept. What to do next. It was as he looked down at the blubbering boy that he noticed something, the trailing red birthmark down the back of his neck, emerging from under his hair and ending just before the prominent bone at his nape. Alan frowned and asked of Remus, “Where’s the nearest floo to here? I want to call ‘Harry’”

Frowning, Remus led them to a nearby classroom and pointed to the fireplace and the dish of powder. Alan ignited a fire effortlessly with his wand, chucked in the handful of powder, stuck his head in like a veteran and called for ‘Harry Potter – Severus Snape’s chambers’, and he saw Dan with headphones in his ears, bopping his head as he worked.

After waving, calling out and eventually stepping through and physically removing the small buds from Dan’s ears, Alan finally had Dan’s attention. Dan was startled and wondered at the tension he felt in his lover, “Okay, you’ve disturbed me, what’s up?” Alan frowned, “Does Draco have the birthmark on his neck or does Tom?”

Dan’s eyes widened behind his glasses. “Bloody hell”, he whispered, thought a moment, then said, “Budge up, I’m coming through. Where are you?” Alan told him and in moments, Dan was with the small party in the empty classroom.

He stared at ‘Draco’. Draco stared back. Dan advanced on him. Draco remarked, “You look older”. Dan grinned and shrugged, “You’re two years older than me”. Someone gasped. Dan suspected it was Remus but he ignored him. He said, “Turn around, Draco. Either that or bend your head”. The blond eyed him warily then turned.

There it was. The birthmark Dan had kissed so many times, well, at least several dozen during the bare month that they’d been together. It was covered in make-up for Draco and this wasn’t Draco.

Before he could stop his traitorous lips, he planted a light kiss on the red mark then snapped away, “Sorry, Tom”, he said automatically as he regained sense and the blond’s eyes were fit to bulge out of his head as they snapped up to meet Dan’s. “Who the fuck are you two?”, he muttered. Remus shifted in his chair and Alan cleared his throat. Dan turned to them, “I think he’s one of us”, was all he said.

Alan had seen the boy’s reaction and scowled. Bloody hell-fire, his beloved’s ex. No way, not so long as he breathed but he looked into the terrified eyes, saw the horror of the Dark Mark and had to take pity on the lad. He nodded shortly at Dan and Dan grinned at him, blowing him a kiss, that pleased Alan more than he liked to admit.

A polite cough brought them round. Draco enquired, “What is it you saw? And what do you mean by one of us?” The blond’s eyes darted between them and he was biting his lower lip in agitation. Dan smiled slowly at him, “What is your real name? Is it Draco Malfoy or Tom Felton?” The blond lashes fluttered shut and his shoulders slumped a little. Air rushed out of him as he exhaled, “How do you know who I am? I’ve really tried to fit in but I can’t be that bloody egomaniac”.

Alan nodded at this and said, “I take it that you ‘inherited’ magic when you came to this side?” Now the darting eyes were back, “Whoa, have you two known about this all along? That I’m really a muggle, or whatever it is you call them, er, us”. Dan grinned now, “Name. Felton or Malfoy”. The blond breathed in, held his breath, needing to trust, then rushed out the exhale, “Felton. Tom Felton. I’m almost twenty-two and I’m an actor in a bunch of films about this place. I don’t know how I got here and I’m frantic to get back. There, now you know”.

The lovers exchanged another glance and nodded. “How we know, Tom, is I’m Alan Rickman, not Severus Snape and this man here is Daniel Radcliffe, not Harry Potter and I suspect that we were all carried here during the same magical transference although your counterpart may yet live as I do not recall seeing your obituary in the papers”. At this, Tom’s eyes widened, “You two are dead?”, he stammered out, aghast, “I mean I know there’s ghosts in this place.....”

Dan shook his head, “Nah, we, that is, Dan and Alan, are very much alive but the real Harry and Snape are dead. There was a storm and some powerful magic that they were doing in an experiment. They’d been watching us. What I’m curious to know, is where were you in all this?”

There was that flickering look again and the blond exhaled slowly, colour climbing his cheeks, “I was at the top of the tower above the props offices. I was watching too, although I wasn’t aware of anyone else, certainly not where I was at any rate. I was soaked through with rain and I’d seen the two of you heading for the trailers. I was dead jealous, if you must know. Here we were, Dan and I had hardly finished and you two were getting all cosy with each other. I knew you were going off to fuck and it fucking hurt. I know, I know, it shouldn’t have, after all, I was the reason we finished, can’t keep it in my pants and all that, but it still hurt. One minute you’re almost in love with me, Dan, and the next, running off with him”, he cocked his head at Alan.

Dan’s look hardened, “Go on”, he all but spat. Draco/Tom furrowed his brow, “I’m not sure what happened next. I sort of felt the parapet I was leaning on seem to give a bit under my body weight and I moved up a bit but then I tripped on something when the thunder rolled a bit loudly and I banged my head on the way down and knocked myself out. When I came to, there was a big piece of the tower wall missing and I was here, not on set any more. I’ve been reading like a fiend ever since to try and figure out what happened but I’m still none the wiser. There you have it”.

They all turned at the sound of Remus’ voice, “And at the Manor, Malfoy. How did you fool Draco’s parents for the entire holiday?” Tom’s voice trembled, “They were so excited about my ‘ceremony’ that they seemed to ignore ‘me’. I was just a body to order about or have fitted into fancy robes or talk to caterers. Have you talked through the floo? Never seen anything so weird in my life as someone looking like they want a good buggering with ass in air and no head. Anyway, it seems ‘la famille Malfoy’ are all a bit distant from each other so most of the time I buggered off to my room and practiced magic really hard as I’d no idea when I’d be called on to actually perform some, as a result, I was pretty much left to my own devices, that is until last Saturday”.

Remus paused the lad here and transfigured them all some chairs while Dobby was summoned and tea brought. The china could be heard rattling against Tom’s teeth but he sipped still without gulping and managed to restrain his shakes. He looked off into the middle distance, his eyes blank and unfocussed and began, “I knew it was to be my Marking ceremony and I knew what it was about, or so I thought from that bitch’s fucking books but it isn’t, all right? It’s nowhere near it”.

He put his teacup down before he gave in to the urge to throw it then buried his head in his hands. Alan rose to go to the lad’s side, but Remus was there first, “It can’t have been easy, Draco”. The blond looked up and smiled wanly, “From now on, can you call me Tom, okay? But if that’s too close to Riddle then Thomas or Tommy or Andy is fine. Andrew’s my middle name”. Remus smiled reassuringly, “Tom it is then, it humanises you. You have magic then as these two do?” The blond nodded. Remus looked the boy over fairly frankly, “Does Dumbledore know or has anyone else guessed that you are not Malfoy? It must make living in the dungeons pretty difficult”.

Tom snorted, “I’m an actor. I just feel like I’m in the movies 24/7. Oh, and the hair doesn’t come off” Dan laughed, “Oh, you have it so bad”, he scoffed, “I can’t see two feet in front of me without these damned glasses and the scar doesn’t peel off either”, he lifted his hair to illustrate the point and Tom’s brow rose.

Alan spoke up, “I, too, went through changes. As you see, I have the hair and eye-colour, also I seem to have de-aged some third of my life. I have a Mark, too, although it isn’t active” Tom lowered his head and mumbled, “So that’s why the Death Eaters are gunning for your blood, Severus. Yeah, Potter, I do have it pretty bad as a matter of fact, I have a Mark given to me personally by the Big Man himself, and, yes, it fucking works, okay?”

Dan started guiltily, he hadn’t had to endure almost two months alone and afraid either, hiding who he really was even to the extent of the Marking, going to a house he’d never seen before and pretending to be the son of the owners, a pair of murderous bastards of the aristocratic stripe. Dan thought, ‘At least he can do the aristocrat, he’s definitely posh totty’ and had to restrain himself from giggling.

Then to lighten the atmosphere a little, Tom said, “Aye, and in this world, the bloke I fancied is solidly straight, how boring is that? Not to mention that I have a vault key to a ton more money than I had before. I have no friends, only sycophants, and I’m eternally grateful that my ‘father’ stopped the Death Eaters from going crazy at my Marking and passing me around them like a ten-quid crack whore. Apparently, that is quite the fashion with the ‘newbies’”. Tom’s voice was strained at this point and he looked desolately at them all, “Then here I find two more of us and realise I’m probably here completely by accident. Life sucks”.

Dan felt a surge of sympathy for his ex and sighed, at least, if they figured all of this out, then Tom maybe had a way back whatever he’d suffered here but he had suffered and far more than either he or Alan. Still, their suffering was to come, Dan still had to take on Voldemort.

Before he could get too introspective, Tom asked apropos of nothing, “How come the author of the books had it so wrong? By the way, Voldemort looks nothing like Ralph Fiennes in a mask and green bodysuit. Trust me, I’ve seen him”, he shuddered and paled at the memory, glad he was seated.

There was a silence for a while until Dan blurted, “I think we’re in someone else’s story, not in the original. These books have the highest number of online fanfiction writers in the world and I actually think we’re in one of the racier ones but there’s no way of finding out”, he found the lie tripped glibly off his tongue.

“Racy stories? Y’mean, like, porn?” Tom’s brow furrowed. Dan shrugged, “Yeah. My sister’s read gazillions of them. I suspect she’s even written a few but I’ve never been able to get her to admit it. It’s all girlie fans writing for other girlie fans and they get their rocks off by writing about guys with guys using characters from their favourite novels or TV shows”.

Tom frowned but it was Remus that spoke, looking at Tom, “So, basically then, these stories are improbable homosexual romances about men for women?” Dan grinned, “Yeah. Sounds about right. Come on, Alan and I are in the same quarters under the spurious guise of ‘apprenticeship’! I ask you! Apprenticeship! Don’t make me laugh. It’s one of the oldest May-September gay set-ups going and a pretty common trope amongst these girlie writers”.

Tom started to chuckle, “Jesus, this is so unreal. I’ve been dying to talk to you two but you were squirreled away, something about magic loss and depletion after a mission and now here I am and it’s you bloody two. I take it you have magic as well?” Dan nodded, “And we do joined stuff, erm, shared spell-casting. Apparently it’s the sign of weak wizards, having to combine their magic so we’re probably fucked on the Voldemort front but Alan and I practise all the time and keep fit and so on. We’ll try and get rid of this fucker”.

Alan purred, “I take it, Tom, that you wish to ‘defect’ to this side?” Tom nodded, “Fuck! Yeah. I hate being a bad guy and I hate all the blood purity shite. I’m an actor not a fascist. What do I have to do? Christ! You have no idea how glad I am to see you two. Oh, and by the way, Dan, why did you kiss my neck before?”

Dan blushed, “It was your birthmark. That’s how I knew it was you and not Malfoy, and I’ve kissed it loads of times before and, fuck, I’m sorry, I really shouldn’t have done that, it was an aberration on my part”. Tom waved him off, “No big. Anyway tell me about your transference. How the fuck were we brought here?”

It was Alan’s turn to shrug, “Well, it involved being crushed by a huge chunk of masonry, I believe. We were given magical healing while the others weren’t so lucky. We think it was a time-turner type spell that went wrong or maybe it was even deliberate. Since we have been here all sorts of scenarios have suggested themselves”. Dan knew his lover was sparing the blond the truth for now as well as keeping their secrets.

Tom went whiter than white, “A chunk of stone? Shit! Of course. The loose bit on top of the tower. Wow, fuck, sorry guys”. Dan smiled, “I doubt very much that your slight and slender self actually did much. Chances are, the thing was ready to go anyway. It was more likely a lightning strike on the weak spot”, but Tom didn’t look convinced.

Remus butted in, “I think we need to go and see Dumbledore, chaps. If Tom here really isn’t Draco then there’s no way he’ll make you go back to people who aren’t your parents”. Tom nodded warily, “Does this mean that ridding the world of Voldemort is going to be down to a handful of muggles? Remus grinned, “Well, hardly, there is still the Order....but enough of that, we need to see Dumbledore first. You must understand, he will probably quiz you under Veritaserum, after all we need to verify who you really are”. Tom sighed at this.

Dan had an idea, “Tom, were you in your own kit or were you still in costume when you came through to this universe?” Tom raised his brows, “In costume, why?” Dan frowned, “Do you have anything remotely muggle about you?” Tom nodded, “Yeah, I’ve still got my I-pod but the battery ran out weeks ago and I left my phone on charge in my trailer so I’m without a phone. All I had on me was whatever I had in my pockets at the time, just my MP3 player and a letter from one of my brothers”. Dan said, “You might want them with you when we go see Dumbledore, sort of more evidence to back you up, though Madam Pomfrey and Dumbledore pretty much guessed straight away that we weren’t Harry and Snape; our old injuries didn’t match – trust a medic to suss it out”.

Tom’s face brightened, “Then she could read me, couldn’t she? She’d soon see I’m not really Malfoy”. Remus smiled, “I think we ought to lay the whole thing at Albus’ feet and see where to go from here”. He rose and the others followed his lead. He banished the chairs and tea-tray and the group left the classroom.

The headmaster’s brows rose as he saw the make-up of the deputation straggling into his office, “My word, I hope you two haven’t been fighting again”, he glared at the two younger members of the small party, but Remus muttered something and the man’s expression softened. They were all ushered into chairs and had to wait out the formalities until they all had a cup of tea in front of them.

“Now, gentlemen, what is it you want from me?”, the old man sat back and waited calmly. Tom spoke up first, “I’d like Madam Pomfrey to be here, if I may. I’d like her to do a medical scan on me”. Dumbledore’s brow furrowed, “Are you ill, Draco? You don’t need to see me. You could have gone to see her by yourself, you know” Tom rolled his eyes, “I am aware of that, sir, but I want her to ‘read’ me. You see, I am no more Draco Malfoy than these two are Harry and Severus. It seems as if I came through with them, although I was at the top of the Astronomy tower and they were at the base”.

Albus shot up out of his seat, “Good Lord, boy. Are you trying to tell me that you are not the son of Lucius and Narcissa?” Tom stood his ground and shook his head, “No, sir. I’m almost twenty-two. My name is Thomas Andrew Felton and I’m an actor. I am the youngest of four brothers and played Draco Malfoy in the films in which these two also acted and I’ve been frightened and alone for almost two months trying to keep my secret from the rest of my ‘schoolmates’, even to the point of taking the ‘Mark’ whilst at ‘home’ for the holidays. I’m terrified and Voldemort looks and behaves nothing like the way he is portrayed in the films”.

The old man subsided back into his seat, rubbing his hand over his eyes. To the two older men, he seemed suddenly rather worn and tired. Tom slumped in his seat, “I’ll take the truth drug if you like. I know that Malfoy’s family are Death Eaters. I’m really fucking frightened. The others found me outside your door but I’d forgotten the password, sir”, he said in a low voice.

Remus had never seen the headmaster so out of his depth before and inside he quailed. How could they possibly beat Voldemort with nought but a handful of muggles? Despite his earlier bluster about the Order, he was deeply afraid. He knew how they felt about these supposed interlopers. They had all lost their compass and it was terrifying.

He knew the old man was desperate when he said, “Remus, my boy, what do you make of all this?” The werewolf shrugged, trying to remain calm and objective, “I think we’re fucked, Albus”, just popped out of his mouth.

Dan only had one eye on the proceedings, he was thinking. He had now skimmed dozens of stories and none of them matched his criteria, although there were some common elements, like the fact that Dumbledore was still alive and Lupin was back teaching Harry’s seventh year. He was suddenly drawn from his thoughts by the deafening silence all around the room. He blinked, “Sorry, what? I missed that”.

Remus repeated his statement, blushing, then added, “Look, I don’t mean to malign what you have learned, or anything like that, nor even your intelligence levels but to kill Voldemort? That’s going to need something special”. Dan muttered, “Yeah, and that’s what you’ve got. Well, maybe ‘special’ is pushing it a bit, but it’s certainly different”.

Tom murmured, “He’s gonna call me through this Mark, isn’t he? I’ve felt twinges in it already”. Albus nodded slowly, “I fear so, dear boy; and you will have to answer or be subject to unbelievable pain”. Tom paled, “I know. He ‘tests’ the Mark, you know, to see if it works. It’s worse than the Cruciatus spell”. This simple admission made Albus and Remus in particular wince. These muggles were actually pretty bloody brave.

Dan turned to Tom, “He did the Cruciatus?” Tom nodded, “Twice. One after the other. Can’t remember what I did wrong. I think he did it for fun. I nearly bit my tongue clean off and I pissed my pants. Luckily I already knew the cleaning spell. That was the night of my Marking. Not one of my best nights”.

He drew a deep breath and continued, “I want to go back to my own life but to do this, I think I’ve got to do whatever I was sent here to do before we can go back. I mean, why else did they substitute themselves for folk that were older than themselves?”

Alan shrugged, “It has nothing to do with the age, more the roles we were playing”, he indicated his robes, “And maybe the fact that we could pick magic up pretty quickly, after all, we were schooled at the behest of a witch, however minimally accomplished in her Arts and, once they ‘left’ us their magic or a chunk thereof, we would master things more speedily than perhaps the entirely untrained”.

Tom twitched and flinched a bit as Poppy passed her wand carefully over his face about an inch away, her eyes scrutinising every close pass. “Well, laddie, you are not Draco Malfoy. If you were, I’ve healed bone breaks, here, here and here”, she tapped the tip of her wand on the bridge of his nose, high on a cheekbone and halfway along the left side of his jaw. “All of those injuries were caused by Harry Potter. He and Malfoy Junior were never the greatest of pals. You have never had fractures in any of those places”. Tom nodded and let out a relieved breath.

Dan made to slip away to retrieve the letter that he thought Tom, at least, should see, when Albus called after him, “Oh, Dan, in Severus’ bathroom there is the small cabinet under the sink spelled cold and dark. The veritaserum is usually in black bottles and clearly marked, please bring one, would you?” Dan nodded and cast Tom a sympathetic look, then caught his lover’s eye and winked. Alan smiled and Dan left.

He had to cast revealing charms to see the cabinet that Albus spoke of but there it was and there was the serum in bottles of such deep purple hue as to appear black and clearly labelled just as Albus had said. Tucking the letter in a pocket, Dan ran back to the headmaster’s office to see Poppy stepping away from Tom and shaking out her wand and Dobby laying out food.

Tom quite stopped eating after reading the letter. “Where did you get this?”, he whispered. Alan replied, “Amongst the papers of Severus Snape and Harry Potter, the ones that show that we were singled out and brought here deliberately”. Dan shrugged, “That’s not important at the moment as the two of them are dead in any case”. He turned his attentions to the headmaster, “You might be able to get the real Malfoy back but would he be on your side? I think not. You’re stuck with us, Albus. Get used to it. Train us. We have been busy, you know, we take this very seriously, and Tom has been hurt a lot and hasn’t run about being a diva about it all. We may be ‘fucked’ as Remus so graciously pointed out but we’re not completely hopeless”.

At this, Albus couldn’t help but smile slightly, “Dan, you bring joy to my old heart, my boy. I actually think you may have something there, but I would still like to see those papers someday, hmmm?” Dan rolled his eyes, “I’m uploading them at the moment. I’ll let you have them afterwards. I’m keeping copies as evidence, should I need it at a later date”. Albus bristled slightly but conceded, “A wise move, young Dan”, and had to subside, feeling suddenly blindsided by these clever muggles. And what the devil was ‘uploading’?

Tom blurted suddenly, “Remus, take me on as a DADA apprentice, then I can be away from the Slytherin dorms and I can train with these two”, he indicated Dan and Alan. Albus regarded the three. They should be together, or at least able to train together. There may be a glimmer of hope after all. He quizzed his DADA master with a raised brow, “Remus? What do you think?” this time asked with more confidence.

Remus smirked at the luscious blond, “You would have to be on hand to assist with my transformations, or at least cover in my absence. Are you sure you are up to the task?” Tom blew out a long breath, “Does that mean taking classes?” Remus smiled, “No, just supervising homework sessions. Flitwick does my classes up to and including third year and Minerva steps in to do my higher classes. Yes, I think it’s a good idea to take you on as an apprentice”.

Completely at a loss, Albus covered it well by rubbing his hands together with glee and declaring, “Capital idea. Well, that’s sorted out at any rate. Shall we have more tea?” He hid well the deep gloom that gripped his entrails and his hand only shook slightly as he dispensed tea all round.