June: Nightmare

"So we could meet everyone else somehow?" Tessa asked, eyes widening slightly. I need to find Nic. "Maybe we'd stand a better chance of getting out if we were in a group. Fewer shared fears, or something... I don't know." She struggled to her feet, knees protesting at the sudden movement.

"I think it's best if we stick together," Ricardo murmured, already beginning to climb through the forest and towards the house. "If there's some sort of threat here."
--
Jack stated up at Philip, slightly confused by how calm he seemed to be-- especially now that the fire had almost completely engulfed him. He twitched his hand away from the Canadian, wary of the flickering flames. "Thank goodness you're here! I thought we'd be separated permanently."

The other Jack placed his hand on Philip's arm, not-so-subtly sliding it down to meet his teammate's own. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

The sound of quiet footsteps began to echo down a hall that had not been there before. Giovanni visibly paled, grabbing onto Tessa's shoulder for support. "We'll have to worry about that later. I think our next challenge is here right now."

"I have no idea," Giovanni said softly as a figure perched silently in the doorway. He was tall, a rugged and worn-looking man of about nineteen. Scars lined his arms and neck, and an eyepatch covered his left eye, but the straight nose and curly, neat dark hair were unmistakeable. A Time Turner, situated on a delicate golden chain, was clutched in his right hand.
Giovanni was speechless for a moment, something cold settling in the pit of his stomach. "He looks like me. Tessa, he looks like me. What... Who is he?"

Tessa froze, glancing sideways at her Giovanni before her gaze shifted back to the older version. "He is you," she murmured at last. "From an alternate timeline. Look, he has the time turner."

Giovanni stared at the older version of him, breath hitching in the beginnings of a panic attack. "Wait... Have you met him before? Is he one of your fears, or mine? Oh, this feels wrong, very wrong, so wrong..."

The older Giovanni glanced at him before turning to Tessa, eyes full of silent pain. "Why did you leave me?" He asked softly, holding out the chain. "Why did you make me search for so long?"

Tessa flinched away from the chain. Perhaps it was her fear, she thought, although it seemed currently to be more unpleasant than frightening. She gripped Giovanni's arm, hoping to calm him a little. "This never happened, remember," she told him, a slight quiver in her voice. "You were rewritten. Just like Bianca, and Elizabeth." She wasn't going to pretend that she could comprehend the complexity of their situation, but again the conviction in her voice startled her.

"It's probably more of these weird--" The door burst open, revealing a patio full of whispering adults and an old, wrinkled woman who bore a striking resemblance to the Gryffindor. Wordlessly, she pulled Ricardo's ear down to her level, dragging him inside the house.
--
Jack felt himself go bright red at the proximity of their faces. He hoped that the gently lapping flames covered it, for the most part. His voice came out as an overly fast, awkward stammer. "Uh... You're awfully close there, Phil. Everything... Everything okay?"

The other Jack sighed, leaning his chin in his hand. "Can't we stay here a little longer? We're both pretty stressed out, and besides..." He raised his eyebrows, a smile tugging at his lips. "We're alone here."

The older Giovanni stared at Tessa for a moment, expression stony. It softened somewhat, and he reached into his coat, pulling two wands from the pocket. "Don't you dare do to him what you did to me," he muttered, placing them in her hand. They were older, much more worn and torn versions of Tessa's and Giovanni's wands. The latter's had chipped slightly at the tip, revealing the shimmering unicorn tail hair inside. "You're probably going to need these later. There's a room at the end of the hall, that's the next fear."