Nobody Said Time Travel Was Easy!

This year was supposed to be different, good.

For such a short amount of life, Harry really never could catch a break.

Not even thirty minutes had passed since another potential adult in Harry’s life had been ripped from him, taken by the death eaters to be sent back to Azkaban.

Harry really hadn’t meant too, but he had unknowingly been knocking on deaths door. First, He finds out Sirius Black did break out of Azkaban to come and kill him, with the help of their professor Remus Lupin. Then, they find out Sirius did not indeed kill his parents, but Peter Pettigrew did. Even worse, they find out Ron’s pet rat Scabbers is actually Peter Pettigrew, the same Peter Pettigrew that is supposed to be dead. Lastly, he finds out this Peter Pettigrew was indeed friends with his parents and the reason they died and also the reason Sirius was blamed for the crime.

Oh, and professor Lupin turned into a werewolf, which honestly didn’t even feel very shocking to Harry after everything else. Sirius tried to stop him from attacking the kids, but he got injured in turn. Harry tried to save Sirius, but they both almost got their souls sucked out of their bodies by death eaters.

In the midst of his panic, Harry had seen someone save them. Part of him felt that it was his father who had done such. It did not make a whole lot of sense, but the connection felt too strong in his heart to be anyone other than his father. Unfortunately, he had blacked out before he could see who it was behind the patronus, and now Sirius was most likely being taken away from him after his short promise of security.

---

When Harry came too, he first noticed the old bricks and the clean aroma enveloping him.

They were currently in the hospital wing after Snape had gotten help for Harry. The grumpy Professor dragged the trio back to the school and away from the fight happening in the forest, with the help of the other professors.

Hermione was leaning over him, and Ron was in another bed across from the one he was currently occupying. They were both covered in dirt and bandages, and he guessed that he looked quite the same.

Harry coughed suddenly and moved to sit up. He felt Hermione grab his arm and help him, moving the pillow under his head against the headboard and pulling him back as much as she could.

“Thank merlin you’re alright Harry,” She spoke loudly, her voice full of relief. The girl hugged him, and Harry sighed into the warmth of his friend. he looked over her shoulder around the room, making direct eye contact with the Headmaster.

“What happened?” He spoke, finding his voice was scratchy and raw from overexertion.

Hermione pulled away and looked like she was going to explain, but Dumbledore walked up to the bed, placing his hand on the end post. There was a spark in Dumbledore’s eye, and Harry knew the look he was being given. It was the look he was given every year when something eventually happened to him and his friends.

It was Dumbledore telling him that this wasn’t the end.

Far from it.

Harry grabbed onto the mattress and tried to stand, but his legs buckled. He would’ve fallen back if not for Hermione catching his arm and pulling him up with the help of the bed and wall.

Dumbledore waited for the two to get situated on their feet and cleared his throat. The man spoke with a wise-ness that Harry had grown accustomed too.

“Well, Harry, you three have gotten into quiet the situation.”

Hermione glanced at the Headmaster, and something seemed to twinkle in his old eyes once again. The girl nodded and released Harry’s arm, sparing him a glace that spoke,‘do not follow,’ and hurried after the headmaster towards the entrance of the room. Harry watched them converse for a moment before he turned his attention to Ron, who had called towards him.

Ron’s leg was probably broken by the look of it, and Harry couldn’t help but feel that he was responsible in some way.

“Hey Harry.” Ron said, a wobble evident in his voice.

“Hey Ron, you alright?” It seemed like a dumb question based on the look Ron had given him, full of pain and misery. Harry walked towards the end of Ron’s bed, examining his friends’ leg.

“Does it look that way mate?” Ron whispered in that tone he got when scared, and despite himself, Harry laughed. He would’ve kept going if it wasn’t for Hermione calling him over.

Dumbledore was watching him in a way that made Harry feel like the powerful wizard knew what was going on in his mind.

“Sirius is fine. Ms. Granger, there’s a chance you could save more than one life on your quest.” Dumbledore smiled and turned to exit the room, leaving Harry confused.

How did he-

A hand grabbed his upper arm and Harry turned to see Hermione. Quickly apologizing to Ron, she wrapped a long necklace around his neck.

The necklace was gold and had a charm on it that resembled an hourglass. Hermione started to fiddle with it, and Harry knew this must be something important by the look on her face. The boy tried to ask what it was, but she kept quiet and smacked his hand each time he tried to touch the charm that she was fiddling with. Ron was shrieking behind them, but without a second to spare time seemed to slow down and rewind.

Harry saw the Headmaster again, and the three of them being ushered onto beds. Snape was carrying him, which Harry scowled at.

“Hermione-” Harry started, but the girl smacked his hand away once again.

“Harry do not touch this necklace! I have a way to help-”

And suddenly time was moving to fast, all at once.

People flashed before Harry’s eyes, people that he knew and then people he didn’t. For a split second he saw himself from second year with Dobby on one of the beds in the hospital wing, but it was gone in a flash.

“Hermione what’s happening?!” The boy cried, grabbing onto his friend. The necklace connecting them was spinning out of control and sparking every couple of seconds. Hermione hissed and pulled her fingers away from the charm.

“I-I don’t know! It was working fine yester-”

The hourglass necklace cut the girl off with a sharp flash. In the blink of an eye, both Harry and Hermione went flying back when the necklace snapped and exploded.

A sick crunch filled the silence, and Harry cracked open his eyes in fear. The hospital wing was empty now, and the sun was up in the sky, shining harshly through the multiple windows lining the walls. Hermione was coming too, rubbing her head and groaning a little ways away from him.

“Hermione, what in the bloody hell was that?” Harry spoke. Hermione didn’t answer for a moment, all of her attention on the necklace. She crawled up to it and picked up the different shards.

“Hermione!” Harry raised his voice, causing said girl to jump slightly. She turned to her friend and lowered her hands.

“That was a time turner.” She spoke softly, almost sounding defeated.

“What is a time turner exactly?” Harry asked, crawling closer to look at the object in her hands. It was gold, and there were shards in a pile on the floor.

“Well, it’s a device that makes one go back in time to any point at which they choose. Professor McGonagall gave it to me so that I could attend all of my classes.”

Harry took in the information silently. He thought of the past year and of Ron, who kept bringing up how Hermione would just appear out of nowhere.

“So Ron was right then?” He asked grimly.

“Unfortunately. Also, the time turner is now broken, and let’s hope we aren’t five- hundred years in the past or it will be a long journey home.”

Harry stood on shaky legs, taking in the room around him.

“Well lucky for us, it doesn’t look new enough for five-hundred years in the past.” He tried to joke, all the while helping Hermione stand.

The two picked up the remaining shards of the necklace and pocketed them. Harry reasoned that they could try to find a Professor or the Headmaster to try and help them find another or fix the one they had broken. Hermione agreed and shook her head absently.

“We should go then.”

She took the lead and Harry followed slowly after her. Everything echoed when they walked, and The halls were eerily empty.

“Hey ‘mione, do the halls seem creepier when nobody is around?”

Hermione shushed him, but he could see her fighting a grin.

“You sound like Ron. Now be quiet!”

Harry laughed despite himself.

---

Not only was the hall empty, but the whole school was in fact deserted. There was not a soul in sight to help them out of this mess. Hermione reasoned that maybe the new semester hadn’t started yet, so the two made it to the Gryffindor common room as quickly as they could. There seemed to be no evidence of someone living in there, so the two split to go clean up. Harry showered off the dirt and blood from the events that occurred, but he couldn’t shake the anxiety pooling in his stomach.

‘Where could anyone be?’ he thought silently, staring at himself in the foggy mirror.

Harry prided himself on being able to face any challenge that had faced him while attending Hogwarts, but he had to admit that he was scared this time. Something in the air felt almost wrong, and the wasps in his stomach wouldn’t go away no matter how many times he or Hermione assured themselves that someone could help.

Shaking his head, he tried his hardest to push back the fear curling into his stomach and put on a brave front. Harry looked at himself in the mirror once more and sighed.

'If I can defeat an ugly troll, a Professor with a head on the back of his own, and a giant Snake with the figment of Tom Riddle, then I can do this.'

Once they tried to clean up the dirt and blood as best as they could, the two decided to go into town and try to ask for help from someone in Hogsmeade. with the clothes on their backs, they made the trek.

---

“Do you really think someone can help?” Harry questioned for the fifth time.

“Harry, this is a world full of wizards and witches. There will be someone.”

The girl in question answered, irritation filling her voice. Harry knew that she was frustrated, but he also knew she was as scared as he was.

Hogsmeade was surprisingly busy. People were weaving in and out of shops, going about their days as usual. Harry grabbed Hermione’s hand so that they wouldn’t lose each other in the crowd. The two walked themselves into the first shop they saw, which happened to be Honeydukes.

The old man at the counter was reading a news article silently. There was a couple people in the shop, enough to where Harry still felt the need to hold onto Hermione. The duo approached the counter, and the old man didn’t look up when they stopped in front of him. Harry looked around, seeing a sign that read,

Ring for assistance.

Harry rung the bell on the counter, next to a bowl of chocolates. The old man jumped slightly and all but threw his newspaper down onto the counter.

“Oh! Sorry kids, my hearings going. What can I help you with?” The old man smiled, waiting for the two to speak.

Hermione glanced at Harry before clearing her throat.

“Hello sir. We need some assistance.”

The old man smiled again and shook his head. “Do you kids need to find a way to Diagon Alley? The school year is starting, so it's a busy day!”

Harry shook his head and went to speak, but Hermione squeezed his arm and spoke over him. “Oh yes sir, that would be lovely!”

The old man ushered them to the back of the store where a fire place was. Harry knew how this went, so he grabbed a handful of whatever the man had in a bowl and yelled his destination before throwing down the powder.

In the blink of an eye, he was in an alley. He heard a thud behind him and turned to see Hermione, who was frantically wiping her clothes.

“I just hate transporting that way!” She said, a hint of annoyance filling her voice.

“Well, we are wandless as of now.” Harry reminded. He watched her continue to shake her head and fix her jacket that was looking less pink and more brown by the minute.

“‘mione, why did you not ask that guy for help?” Hermione glanced up from her own frantic cleaning and set her eyes on the sight of her friend. She began dusting powder out of his own hair and jacket.

“I figured he would not be of much help with the state of him.”

Harry scoffed, which sounded more like a laugh. “Well, that’s not very nice now!” he said teasingly.

“Excuse me for not finding our predicament very funny.” Hermione grumbled slightly, shaking her head and walking ahead of him, out onto the busy street. Harry followed, taking in the busy street after his eyes adjusted to the sun.

The old man had been right, it was busy in Diagon Alley.

“Well, I guess the new semester is indeed starting soon.” Hermione whispered, grabbing Harry’s arm once more. The two ushered themselves into one of the local bookshops, looking for a figure of authority. Hermione seemed to spot someone, so she let go of him.

“Harry, I’m going to go talk to the store owner. you stay here and try to find something useful!” Hermione spoke, and just like that she disappeared.

Harry scoured the place for information on time turners, but nothing useful came up besides books on charms and herbology. He was moving to the next row of books when someone bumped heavily into his shoulder. Harry winced and looked up at who hit him. It was a boy, one that appeared to be his age. He had black hair that fell around his face in waves, and a bright smile was plastered on his face. His skin was pale, but not in a sickly way.

“Oh, sorry mate!” The boy spoke, the hint of a laugh filling his voice. The boy looked like he had been hiding from someone and trying to catch his breath at the same time. Harry felt he should say something, but the boy confused him. Something about him seemed almost familiar in a sense, causing him to lose his words.

“Oi Sirius! Are you out here bothering kids again?” Another man spoke from behind Harry, and said boy felt himself freeze at the name.

Sirius, he was looking at Sirius.

Sirius started to speak back to the other voice, but harry cut him off with a sharp. “Sirius Black!”

Harry slapped his hand over his mouth, partly in shock and partly because of how loud he had been. His mind could not comprehend it though. Sirius wasn’t supposed to be this young. He was sharp and hardened by his time in Azkaban, covered in a layer of dirt and something darker. The Sirius he had met not too long ago had a shadow over his eyes, and a hollowness in his cheeks that told a story of how kindly time had treated him in his life. Harry tried to convince himself that he was wrong, but the longer he stared, the more features he saw that resembled the Sirius he knew. The mark under his left eye was all the more telling.

This Sirius looked happy, and that filled Harry with a fear he didn’t even know existed.

A hand was waved in front of his face, and Sirius looked like he was trying to say something to him, but Harry’s feet started moving before his brain could. He turned to go find Hermione in the crowd of new Hogwarts students. There was a new fear filling his body this time.

Not only did they travel too far back in time- They traveled to the seventies!

Oh, wait until Hermione hears about this.