Time Is Not A Toy
Max watched the Sorting mostly in silence.
Whenever she sat next to Brooke during a sorting, the brunette would make little comments about the kid coming up to be sorted next - sometimes she would even predict what house they were about to be sorted into by expression and walk alone. She was almost always right in these predictions.
But instead, Max was sitting next to Kate. Brooke was on Kate’s other side, rolling her nails against the table. Kate would clap along whenever someone was sorted into Hufflepuff. And Max was dreadfully bored.
Her hand came to rest on the outside of her pocket again.
Hoida’s letter weighed heavily on her mind.
She glanced at Kate - who was paying close attention to the Sorting.
One more re-read couldn’t hurt.
She gently pulled the letter out of her pocket, and opened it under the table.
Dear Max,
Hello! I hope you’re having a great Summer so far. I hope the owl didn’t scare your parents - I understand that muggles can have a fear of owls, for some reason. But worry not - Stephanie is perfectly kind, and doesn’t bite. Isn’t she a sweetheart?
I saw your test results from last year - they were wonderful! I’m very proud of you. You’ve always been wonderful at Transfiguration, but I was a bit worried about your Charms grade - but you really pulled through with the written work! Perhaps you should talk to Ms. Grant about some tutoring for your practical work?
But I wanted to talk about that discussion we had about electives. I told you last year that you weren’t allowed to take every elective, but… that’s not quite true.
Now, Max, I need you to understand that this is very much in the preliminary stages at the moment. But maybe by the beginning of the school year, we could get you something called a time turner.
It allows the student to rewind time.
Now, of course, you’d have to use it strictly for schoolwork purposes only. And it has some very strict guidelines - I’ve attached a pamphlet to this letter that I expect you to have MEMORIZED. It is very foolish to play with time, Max, and you could get yourself and others hurt doing so. I’m trusting you with a very big responsibility even telling you that this is an option - and you couldn’t tell any of your schoolmates about it, either. This is top secret Department of Mysteries technology, and really, if you ask me - they’re probably only letting students use them in the first place as sneaky test subjects. But there have been no reported injuries, malfunctions or casualties so far. As long as you follow the rules, it should be perfectly safe.
I’ve attached a form for your parents to sign, and a blood quill to sign it with. Don’t worry about the blood quill - it’s less ominous than the name would suggest.
I hope to hear back from you soon - and have a great (and safe) rest of your Summer!
Sincerely,
-Totally your favorite professor (of Transfiguration) Ms. Hoida
Some lines still made her smile, a little. Max really liked Ms. Hoida - she was a really wonderful teacher.
But the idea of literal time travel kind of made her stomach squirm.
She folded the letter up again and tucked it into her robes.
“Max?”
She glanced to her left - Kate was giving her a concerned glance.
“How’s my bestie doing over here, huh?” Kate tried, giving her a smile that was shockingly genuine, considering the concern wavering at the corners.
Max smiled back. “Fine, Kate. Just thinking about some schoolwork I didn’t finish over the Summer.”
“I can stay up and help you finish it!” Kate offered instantly, nudging Brooke as she did - Brooke turned to glance at her, eyes focusing again for the first time since the sorting started. “Brooke’ll help - right, Brooke?”
Brooke adjusted her glasses. “Of course. You’re not going to flunk out on my watch.”
Max smiled a little wider at them. “Thanks, guys. But I think I’ve gotta finish this one on my own.”
Kate looked like she was going to protest - but Brooke leaped in to unwittingly save her.
“Well, the Sorting is nearly complete. After the Headmaster makes his start-of-term announcements, we’ll be able to start eating.”
Max lazily snapped her fingers into finger guns at her.
Brooke gave her a sharp snap back.
The second Kate and Brooke turned back to the Sorting, Max propped her head against her hand.
The candlelight glinted off her plate.
“SLYTHERIN!”
A tiny body rushed off to the Slytherin table among polite clapping, and Hoida picked up the Sorting hat and walked out of the hall through a side door while the Headmaster, Mr. Wells, stood.
He offered them a tight smile.
“Welcome back, students. We hope you have a wonderful year at Hogwarts. I have some start-of-term announcements to make.
“Firstly, our caretaker, Mr. Taylor, has put a… bounty on an animal roaming the halls. Apparently a cat has been scaring his pet squirrels. Please keep a look out for it - it is thin and black, with white paws.
“Secondly - I am afraid that Ms. Rakepick has been terminated from her position as Defence Against the Dark Arts professor. In her place, I have hired renowned duelist, Mark Jefferson.”
Wells gestured to his right - and a man with clean-cut black hair and smooth, pale skin waved at them with an easy smile.
“We hope you give him a warm Hogwarts welcome,” Wells said, with a stern look. “Now - without further adieu - let’s eat.”
He clapped his hands once - and food appeared on the tables.
“Show-off,” Brooke said. Max repressed a snort.
Kate, instantly, delved for the fried chicken. Brooke glanced around - and latched onto the bowl of peppermint toads.
Max wasn’t very hungry.
“Oh, yes,” Brooke said - and swallowed a mouthful of squirming peppermint. “I wanted to tell you both - I’ve been looking for the kitchens in my spare time. I think they’re very close to the Hufflepuff dorms, if I’ve been keeping an accurate mental map - there’s an incredibly large space there that I’ve never seen any doorways for. If we can find the secret entrance - likely a painting - then the House Elves would probably be more than happy to supply us with spare food whenever we need it for late-night studying.” Brooke paused. “Or coffee. Probably coffee.”
Kate smiled at her. “That’s amazing, Brooke! It never would’ve occurred to me to try and look for unused spaces in the castle - though, now that I say that, it seems kinda obvious.”
Brooke’s expression faltered, for a moment. “It’s really not amazing. Just common sense.”
“Oh, shush,” Kate said. “You’re great, Brooke. You should really give yourself more credit.”
Brooke just barely smiled.
Max turned away, so that neither of them could see the wide, teasing grin on her face. She was going to hold this crush over Brooke for ages after her and Kate got together.
“Excuse me?”
Max startled - and glanced behind her.
Ms. Hoida was standing over them, and smiling.
“I’m very sorry for bothering you all,” she said - Brooke was eyeing her up in a way that practically screamed ‘suspicious’. “But could I borrow Max for a moment?”
A steel ball dropped into Max’s stomach.
“Not to be rude, professor,” Brooke said, raising an eyebrow at her. “But can’t this wait until we’re done eating?”
“I’m afraid not, Ms. Scott. We have to talk about this before classes. ...She’s not in trouble,” Hoida added, when the suspicion on Brooke’s face didn’t ease.
“It’s okay, Brooke,” Max said, offering her the fakest smile she could. “We’ll talk later? I’m not hungry anyway.”
Brooke eyed her up, for a moment.
“...I’ll save you a peppermint toad. They’re your favorite, right?”
Max smiled. It was real this time - though the heavy weight in her stomach didn’t ease. “Yeah. Thanks, Brooke.”
Brooke shot her a pair of lazy finger guns.
Hoida stepped back, and gestured down the aisle. “After you.”
Max shuffled past her - and tried to ignore the pit in her stomach.
“You’ve memorized the pamphlet I gave you?”
Max nodded.
“...Max, I’m trusting you with a very big responsibility here.”
Max nodded again.
“...What is the most important thing about time travel?”
“Never let your past self see you,” Max recited.
“What are you allowed to change?”
“Nothing.”
“If the turner is broken, damaged or malfunctioning-”
“Bring it straight to you.”
Hoida smiled at her, and raised an eyebrow. “What have we said about interrupting?”
Max blushed. “...Sorry.”
“It’s alright. Max, I need you to understand - time is not a toy.”
Max nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Say it back to me, Max.”
“Time is not a toy.”
“Again.”
“Time is not a toy.”
“Again.”
“Time is not a toy.”
Hoida smiled. “Good. Now… I expect you to go to Ms. Grant about that private tutoring.”
Max nodded.
“The teachers have been informed of the time turner. They will help you avoid yourself, if needed.”
Max nodded. Her neck was starting to hurt from all the nodding.
“...Okay.”
Hoida reached into a drawer in her desk - and pulled out a flat, black box.
She lifted the lid.
The turner was pressed into a pad of dark red satin. The chain looked like pure gold - the links were thin and spindly. And, on the end, sat a small ring with two small bars, holding a rotatable hourglass.
“Every turn of the hourglass should bring you back one hour. You should never turn it more than four times a day - even that is stretching it a little. Remember, you’re still aging during extra hours - not in a legal sense, mind you, but adding four hours to every day will make every six days seem like a week. You still need to keep a consistent, healthy sleep schedule - and this device does not mean you can spend extra time goofing off, Max. I expect you to spend the vast majority of your time, especially on school days, studying. And you should of course avoid using the turner at all, if possible.”
Max stared at the time turner.
Her stomach turned.
It looked so… unassuming. A piece of jewelry like any other. Maybe a little odd, but nothing to give more than a second glance.
The idea that this little necklace could manipulate time…
It was almost unbelievable.
She reached forward, and gently lifted the turner out of the satin. She handled it like an antique - for all intents and purposes, it was one.
Plus, she had no idea what might happen if she dropped it and it shattered on the floor.
“The turner shouldn’t be damaged,” Hoida said, like she was reading Max’s mind. “It’s got protective and durability charms galore. And I don’t want you showing that off to your friends, Max - even if you don’t tell them what it does. I want you to wear it under your clothes at all times. It should never be off your person. Understand?”
Max nodded weakly, eyes still latched onto the turner.
Suddenly - Hoida smiled.
“Well? Let’s see how it looks on you.”
Max blinked, and glanced at her.
“What? I’m curious!” Hoida said defensively, a smile still on her face. “It’s the last time I should ever see it overtop of your uniform instead of under it. Put the bad boy on!”
Max - gingerly - slipped it on.
It rested overtop her tie.
It looked… pretty good, all things considered. The red a nice contrast against the gold.
“Looking good, sister,” Hoida said, giving her a finger gun.
Max smiled.
“But seriously, be careful, Max. This thing is dangerous. I’m trusting you not to do anything stupid with it.”
Max nodded, serious and determined.
“I promise, Professor. I won’t do anything stupid. I won’t let my past self see my future self. And I won’t change a single thing.”
Hoida smiled, and nodded back. “Good girl. Now - get to your dorms, hm? If anyone asks, I was… I dunno… talking about some homework you didn’t finish.”
Max nodded for what must’ve been the thousandth time.
Time is not a toy.
The phrase bounced around in her head the whole way to the Gryffindor dorms.