Chapter 1
Rigel twisted around the sickly green curse, knowing that to finish her ongoing work she'd have to take some damage.
So when the next spell one of the many masked opponents surrounding her came in a flash of bright yellow — a sign she knew meant the curse was non lethal, at least immediately — she didn't sidestep, only poured more magic in the device concealed in her left fist.
But if she had known what that spell would do, where it would take her, she'd never have done it.
"Tempus Tergum!" If the words to the spell hadn't been said in such a low voice Rigel could not have possibly heard them, she'd never have taken it.
Even though the spell should have hit her shoulder due to the Death Eaters' despicable aim, it hit her square in the chest, knocking the wind out of her.
And her life quite literally flashed before her eyes, only…
Backward.
And she couldn't breathe, only watch and watch as she saw her mother cradling her and her eyes turn green—
But the scenes didn't stop after that, though they got too blurred for her to make sense of most of them.
She thought she saw Riddle pass through the discriminatory laws in a coup against the light, she thought she saw a Lily Potter and Severus Snape young enough to attend magical schools part on a platform.
And more scenes still came, only—
Rigel realised with some panic she couldn't see anymore, and then—
She slumped to the ground, unconscious.
When Rigel awoke, she realised she was still on the Hogwarts grounds where the awards ceremony had been held, except…
She stared through her confusion at the student faces around her watching her with both curiosity and suspicion.
She realised she recognize none of them , and then that the uniforms looked slightly different and—
Rigel jolted up, trying to keep her breathing even and failing miserably.
Tempus Tergum.
That freaking fool had used Tempus Tergum on her. The effects of the spell didn’t lie.
Had he or she lost their mind?! Or had they simply not known everything that spell entailed and only thought it a banishing spell?
The spell had catastrophic effects, both on the current reality and on its victim.
Harry would be lucky to even find a single person in the awards ceremony alive.
It was a very dark spell for a reason, taking the life force of everyone present to push the target of the spell as far back in time as possible.
She let out a sigh of relief that Addy had not been taken to the awards ceremony before she choked with grief— her mum and dad, Remus, Sirius, and… and…
Prof-professor Snape. All the friends she'd made as Rigel.
Dumbledore. Both Riddles.
But it was the last stone that tore her completely, finishing what the realisation had started; Archie.
Every single person who'd attended the awards ceremony… dead.
All because of her stupidity. Because of a Death Eater's stupidity.
Because of Riddle's stupidity.
She tried to stop shaking, but she couldn't, she couldn't, she couldn't…
A familiar yet very young looking mediwitch that Rigel realised with shock and regret was probably Madam Pomfrey during her initial years of work at Hogwarts—another life lost in the future because of her carelessness —rubbed circles on her back and then helped her to the infirmary.
"Don't diagnose me," she said to the mediwitch when she pulled out her wand after coaxing Rigel into an infirmary bed.
"I-I don't, consent to it," she managed.
Before she knew how much back in time she had really gone, she could risk nothing about her being revealed.
Rigel blinked back another onset of tears and shut her eyes tightly, and then she knew no more.