A Past Reclaimed by nuw255
Chapter Notes: We are reminded of Tyler’s background. That’s all I can say without giving away what happens.
“Out of bed, Harry.”
Harry rolled over and groaned at the bushy-haired girl who was standing at his bedside. “‘S too early,” he mumbled.
“Well you’d better get used to getting up early, because you’ve got five years’ worth of magic to learn before term starts in September.”
Still grumbling, Harry rolled out of bed and got dressed before heading downstairs to meet Hermione in the kitchen. “What’s for breakfast?” he asked.
“Toast,” she replied. “No time for anything else; come on.” She handed him two slices of buttered toast and led him into the living room where an assortment of books was spread out on the floor. “We’ll start with theory, since you’re not allowed to do magic outside of school yet. Do you remember any Transfiguration?”
Harry shook his head.
“Okay, then let’s start with some of the basic topics from first year....”
Harry didn’t even see anyone other than Hermione until lunch. He sank heavily into his chair at the large kitchen table and sighed, causing Ron to snicker.
“You may want to ease up a bit, Hermione,” he advised. “Otherwise you’re going to kill him within a week.”
“He has to get caught up,” Hermione argued. “And it isn’t exactly easy to learn five years’ worth of material in a matter of weeks.”
Ron and Hermione continued arguing, but Harry wasn’t paying attention. He slowly ate his sandwich, enjoying the much-needed break from Hermione’s tutoring and glancing up at Ginny whenever he thought no one was looking. She looked as beautiful as ever with her long red hair resting gently on her shoulders and tumbling down her back. Even though they saw each other quite often since they were living in the same house, Harry’s stomach still did a somersault whenever she smiled at him. She looked up from her lunch and did just that, sending a slight shiver down his spine before he looked away.
Harry glanced down the table at Tyler and stopped short. “Where’s Tyler?” he asked suddenly, not even realizing that he was interrupting Ron and Hermione’s argument.
Ron stopped mid-sentence and looked around. “I don’t know,” he said. “That’s odd; he never misses a meal.”
“You’re right,” Ginny agreed. “Ever since he came here, I’ve never not seen him at a meal.”
Harry suddenly didn’t feel very hungry anymore. “I’m going to go look for him upstairs.” He set down what remained of his sandwich and jogged up the stairs, calling for Tyler. Unable to locate him, he hurried back down to the kitchen. “He’s not here,” he said.
“He’s probably just out in the garden or the orchard,” Ron said dismissively.
“Outside,” said Harry. “Right.” He ran out the back door and began calling Tyler’s name. After a moment, he was joined by Ginny, but the two of them were still unable to find any sign of him.
“What do you think?” Ginny asked once it was apparent that he was nowhere to be seen.
“I’m not sure, but we definitely need to tell your mum that he’s missing,” Harry answered. He and Ginny jogged back into the Burrow.
“Ron, where’s Mum?” Ginny asked.
Ron shrugged. “How should I know?”
Ginny made a frustrated noise and hurried into the living room, calling for her mother. She returned a few moments later looking worried. “Mum was upstairs, but she said she hasn’t seen Tyler either.”
Harry swore under his breath and sank into his chair. “Where could he have gone?” Nobody answered. “Did he do or say anything strange last night or this morning?”
“He asked me about Umbridge and the Ministry earlier,” Ron said. “I guess he didn’t quite catch everything last night.”
“Yeah, he asked me how to get to the Ministry,” Ginny said slowly. She suddenly squeezed her eyes shut and swore under her breath.
“Ginny?” Harry asked, a little surprised by her language.
Ginny’s eyes snapped open. “How could we be so stupid?” she asked the room in general. “He went after Umbridge!”
Ron choked on his sandwich. “He what?”
“He went after Umbridge,” Ginny repeated frantically. “He heard that we need her wand to fix Harry’s memory, and then he started asking questions about where to find her.”
“Well, he is a pickpocket,” Harry said slowly. “Maybe he’ll pull it off.”
“Not likely,” Ron disagreed. “She’s sure to have an Anti-Theft Jinx on her wand just in case, now that she knows we want it.”
Harry growled in frustration. “We’ve got to find him, then. Now!”
“We don’t have to do anything other than tell Mrs. Weasley what’s happened,” Hermione said calmly. “She and the Order can take care of this.”
“Alright, Hermione, why don’t you run upstairs and fill Mum in?” Ron suggested. Hermione shot him a grateful look and hurried upstairs to explain the situation to Mrs. Weasley. As soon as she was out of earshot, Ron turned to Harry and asked in a low voice, “What do you suggest, mate?”
“Why don’t we go to the Ministry?” Harry asked.
Ginny shook her head. “That’s no good. We’re all too easily recognized, and everybody knows we’re against Umbridge. We need somebody a bit more neutral... like Luna!”
Ron quirked an eyebrow at his sister. “Loony Lovegood?”
“Don’t call her that, Ron,” Ginny scolded. “I’m sure she’ll help; let me Floo her.” She hurried over to the fireplace and threw in a pinch of powder that she had taken from a small pot on the mantle. She thrust her head into the green flames and called out, “The Lovegoods!”
Harry and Ron waited for about a minute and, despite his worry for Tyler, Harry had to work very hard to resist the temptation to stare at Ginny’s backside, which was sticking out of the fireplace. When she finally pulled her head out of the flames and turned around, she announced that Luna would go to the Ministry for them and then meet up with them at a pub called The Leaky Cauldron.
Ron scribbled a quick note letting Hermione know where they had gone, and then he, Harry, and Ginny used the Floo to travel to The Leaky Cauldron. They found a table in the corner and sat in tense silence, occasionally sipping on their mugs of Butterbeer in order to keep up appearances. After five minutes of waiting, the fireplace burst into green flames, and Hermione stepped out. She looked around and quickly spotted her friends.
“What do you think you’re doing?” she demanded in an accusatory whisper.
“We’re waiting for Luna,” Ginny answered in a perfectly casual voice. “Care to join us?”
Scowling, Hermione dropped into a chair. “Harry, I can’t believe you’re out in public. What if one of Voldemort’s spies sees you.”
“Then he’ll be with his mate, Scabbers, shortly,” Harry answered tersely. “Look, Hermione, you don’t have to be here, but I’m not leaving until I know Tyler’s okay. He has no idea what he’s walking into, and he’s got no hope of escaping on his own, since he can’t even do magic.”
Hermione let out a frustrated sigh and muttered something about a “saving people thing.”
“Would you rather he didn’t care about his friends?” Ron asked. “In case you forgot, Hermione, abandoning your friends to save your own neck is a Slytherin trait.”
Hermione’s face flushed. “I didn’t mean he should abandon him,” she insisted. “I just meant that we ought to let the Order handle this.”
“You’re such a hypocrite, Hermione,” Ginny snapped. “How many times did you and Ron sneak off to look for Harry last summer? We’re doing this, and that’s it; either help us or go wait back at the Burrow, but don’t sit here lecturing us.”
The table fell into a tense silence as they waited for Luna to arrive. About fifteen minutes after Harry, Ron, and Ginny had left the Burrow, a confused-looking blonde witch with radishes for earrings walked through the front door, glanced around, and made her way to their table.
“Hello,” she said in a dreamy voice as she sat down. “How was your holiday, Harry?”
“Sorry?” Harry asked.
“Well, you have been on holiday in the Caribbean with Stubby Boardman, haven’t you?” she asked very seriously.
Harry opened his mouth to correct her, but Ginny spoke first. “There’s no time for that right now, Luna. Did you see Tyler?”
“No, but I heard he came here,” Luna answered as she began following a fly with her eyes. “The security wizard at the Ministry said your friend had been there looking for Umbridge, and he told him she was on her way to Diagon Alley.”
“But he wouldn’t know where Diagon Alley is,” Ron observed. “And even if he did, he wouldn’t be able to get in. He’s a Squib!”
“That’s not exactly true, Ron,” Hermione argued. “My parents are Muggles, and they can get into Diagon Alley just fine. If someone at the Ministry explained to Tyler how to get into The Leaky Cauldron, he just would have had to ask anyone here to open the back wall for him.”
“So what are we waiting for?” Ginny asked, getting to her feet. The others followed suit, and together they hurried out the back of the pub and into to Diagon Alley, looking around frantically for Tyler. Harry didn’t even notice the stares and whispers that followed him as he and his friends walked quickly down the street. Just as they passed in front of one of the various cafés, a small explosion and a crash from inside caught his attention and he raced through the door, closely followed by his friends.
The scene inside the café, already chaotic, spiraled quickly out of control when Harry appeared in the doorway. Dolores Umbridge - Harry recognized her immediately - stood near the counter with her wand trained on a cowering boy with light brown hair. The boy’s face and clothes were covered in what looked like purple ink, but Harry recognized him immediately as Tyler. The small, round table nearest him had been flipped onto its side, and there was no question that he had been caught by Umbridge’s Anti-Theft Jinx.
Before Harry had a chance to think of a way to help Tyler escape, somebody shouted, “It’s Harry Potter!” and the café’s patrons immediately began swarming around him. Strange voices shouted incomprehensible questions and requests at him as he tried to push his way through the crowd.
“Have you really been training with-”
“-defeat You-Know-Who?”
“Where have you-”
“Can you sign my-”
“-really The Chosen One?”
In the confusion, Harry saw Ginny and Luna make their way over to Tyler and pull him outside through the crowd. Seeing that his friend was safe, Harry turned his attention to extricating himself from the large crowd that now surrounded him. Thankfully, Ron and Hermione remained at his sides, and they helped push the gawkers aside, making a path out into the street. As soon as they were clear of the café’s entrance, Harry, Ron, and Hermione began running, closely followed by a large group of autograph-seeking witches and wizards. Ron led the way to a large shop with colorful advertisements posted all over the windows. Upon entering, Harry immediately spotted Fred (or was it George?) by the door to the back room.
“You lot too?” he asked. Harry didn’t have time to wonder what he meant as they were all ushered into a back room and pushed toward a fireplace. Less than thirty seconds later, he was stumbling out of the fireplace at the Burrow.
“What just happened?” Harry asked as soon as he got his bearings.
“Fred just helped us escape,” Ron explained.
“Yeah, but-” Harry looked around the room. “Hey, where’s Tyler? And Ginny and Luna?”
“I don’t know,” Hermione replied, looking around for their missing friends. “Where could they have gone?”
“Probably to the Lovegoods’ house,” Ron noted.
“Can we check?” Harry asked apprehensively.
“Sure. Fireplace is right there, mate.” Ron answered.
Hermione rolled her eyes. “Honestly, Ron, you’d think it was you who’d lost your memory. Come here, Harry; I’ll help you.” She began explaining how to use the fireplace to talk to someone in another house, but before she had a chance to finish, green flames shot from the grate and Ginny stumbled out. She ran right into Harry, knocking him to the ground and landing on top of him. Harry held his breath (not that he had much choice, as she had knocked the wind out of him). Ginny smiled slightly at him before standing up and helping him to his feet. They had barely managed to get out of the way when Tyler, still covered in purple ink from his run-in with Umbridge’s Anti-Theft Jinx, fell out onto the floor.
“Is Luna coming too?” Ron asked as Harry helped Tyler to his feet.
Ginny shook her head. “She was worried that her dad might come home and find her missing. He’s been really paranoid about letting her go out ever since the battle at the Ministry.”
“Are you all right?” Harry asked Tyler.
“Other than the fact that I’m purple, yeah,” Tyler replied. “What happened, anyway? I mean, everything was going perfectly. I told that security guard at the Ministry that she was my aunt, and I was supposed to meet her for lunch, and he told me how to use the Floo Network to get to Diagon Alley. Then I tailed Umbridge all the way to that little café and got right behind her while she was distracted, talking to somebody. I’m sure she couldn’t have realized I was going for her wand, but as soon as I touched it I went flying backwards into a table, and when I looked down I was covered in this... stuff.”
“Umbridge had an Anti-Theft Jinx on her wand,” Harry explained.
“Blimey, I never even thought about that,” Tyler breathed.
Harry snorted. “Well, it’s not like you’ve lived most of your life without magic or anything,” he said in a sarcastic voice.
“Is there any way to get this off of me?” asked Tyler. “I feel ridiculous.”
“If it makes you feel any better, you look ridiculous too,” Ron said with a laugh. “Hermione, can you sort him out while I try and find Mum to let her know Tyler’s back?”
Hermione nodded. “This way, Tyler,” she ordered, and led him from the room.