November- 1974
Saturday, 9th November, 1974
When Regulus wakes he's met with the incredibly unnerving sight of Evan Rosier standing in front of the bathroom sink.
For anyone else, this wouldn't be a big deal. But Regulus knows for a fact that nine times out of ten, Evan will sleep straight through breakfast right up until he's left with only five minutes to get dressed and be off to class. So this— seeing him awake and getting ready before even Regulus—is something he previously had not thought possible.
He turns to the clock on his bedside dresser. He's never overslept a day in his life but he really can't think of any other explanation.
The clock reads 6:35, exactly as it should.
"What the fuck?" Regulus's voice comes as a horrified whisper.
"Hah!"
Regulus finds Barty on the other side of the room. He sits on his bed, cradling Theodore as if he were a human child.
"Would you look at that? Maybe we've rubbed off on Baby Black after all!"
Regulus frowns, sliding out from under his covers. "Sorry to burst your bubble," he says as he makes his way over to steal back his cat, "but I'm not late. You lot are early, somehow."
Barty blinks up at him, shocked. He snatches up his own alarm clock to inspect it.
"Holy shit. Evan, look at this."
Regulus leaves the two to their discovery, tuning out Barty's praises to Evan for being up on time. As he picks out his clothes for the day, he can't help but think about how odd the whole thing is. He has really, truly never seen both boys awake and dressed before him even once. Frankly, it makes him nervous, as if something bad is about to happen. He does his best to shake the feeling and write it off as a once in a life time event. Oh well. There's nothing he can do about it, why worry himself.
———————
Sunday, 10th November, 1974
Regulus practically jumps for joy when he sees all four of his dorm mates still sound asleep in their beds that morning. He eagerly chooses his clothes, entering the bathroom to prepare for the day ahead. On his way out again, his eyes brush past his clock before snapping back.
The time displayed is 5:13 am.
Regulus blinks, convinced his eyes are playing a trick on him. The time doesn't change. He turns, grabbing the clock off of Barty's nightstand as well— 5:13 am. He shakes his head in disbelief.
It isn't that Regulus is opposed to being up this early. In fact, it's quite nice to have a few quiet moments to himself in order to go through his list of activities for the day. And he wasn't especially tired either, so there was no problem there.
It's just that he had been so sure that more time had passed. It had to be 6:40 at the earliest, he was certain. But obviously he had been wrong.
Maybe he had just gotten mixed up. In all honesty, he had no reason to believe in the mistake other than just having a gut feeling. Clearly, his body had lied to him. All evidence pointed to him being wrong.
Or, it seemed that way, until he entered the Great Hall for breakfast.
Sunlight bathed the entirety of the hall, lighting every inch of the room. In place of the ceiling was a beautifully clear sky, not a single cloud in sight. Were the scene real instead of magic, the warmth could have been felt by any teachers and students currently sat enjoying their breakfast.
Regulus sits at the Slytherin table, speechless. Since he entered the hall he hasn't taken his eyes off the ceiling. He considers the possibility of having gone mad as he waits for the seats around him to slowly fill up.
"Barty...do you see that?" He has to work to keep his voice even, still refusing to look anywhere else.
Barty goes silent in a way that tells Regulus he also glances up without Regulus having to actually watch him. "See what?"
"The sky."
Barty continues eating, unbothered. "What about it?"
Regulus's brows draw together. Must he explain everything? "It's light out."
It goes quiet between them for a second. When Barty speaks again his voice is condescending, mocking Regulus. "Yeah, mate. It's daytime."
Regulus finally tears himself away from the sky. He blinks, then leans across the table, squinting at Barty.
"It's November."
Barty pauses mid chew. Something clicks, and he immediately scrunches his face in confusion. He looks up again. The sun burns high above them. He frowns, bringing his eyes back down to Regulus, and shrugs.
"Daylight savings?"
For just a second, Regulus's eyes go wide in amazement at his friends stupidity. He collects himself, breathing in through his nose and out through his mouth.
"Aren't you the one named after a star? Why you asking me how the earth should go round the sun?"
"I just don't get it," Regulus says after some time. He tilts his head back again.
"You don't have to get it. That's just the way it is." Barty shoves a bite of sausage into his mouth. He circles his fork down at Regulus's plate questioningly. "You gonna eat that?"
———————
Thursday (probably), 14th November, 1974
Regulus was certain by now that either the earth had been knocked off it's axis or he had genuinely lost his mind. It seemed as if time would be completely off it's mark one day and then exactly as it should be the next.
The other students had begun to take notice, which only made him feel the slightest bit better. Whispered discussions of the peculiar situation could be heard throughout the halls and during mealtimes. No one was able to make sense of why the sun would rise and set at odd times or when practices and study groups were meant to be held. Tensions began to rise as dates were missed, assignments were marked late, and rehearsals were cancelled.
Barty, as always, found the events quite amusing. He used the time confusion to his advantage almost every day by giving half-assed excuses to each and every single teacher, even when he had actually done his work. He tried to pitch the idea to Regulus and was shut down with a deadly glare.
Regulus tried and failed to find a pattern in the changes. Whenever he caught a glimpse of an answer, they would rewind the past seven hours and he would be forced to start all over. At this point he wasn't even sure his internal clock was right anymore.
He wondered how long it would take to acclimate to this new life style: each day a surprising new mix of dark and light, finding ways to be productive while functioning on forty five minutes of sleep. He hoped that if the universe got them into this mess that meant that it could somehow get them out of it as well. In the meantime, he would do his best to run quidditch drills in the pitch black night sky.
————————
Tuesday (maybe?), 19th November, 1974
Regulus is doing his best to keep his eyes open while he writes his transfiguration report. His head must be made of metal, though, because it keeps drifting closer and closer towards the table. The signals his brain is sending to his hand must be scrambled as well— some of these words are in French.
It's been at least three days since he's gotten a full nights sleep. Or maybe four. What counts as an adequate time to rest? Six hours? He barely got half that last night. As tempting as it is to let himself nap, he's afraid when he opens his eyes again another ten hours will have passed— or reversed. He can't tell the difference anymore.
He rockets up again when his head drops down to the table. Looking down at his parchment, the whole thing is covered in illegible scribbles of English, French, and what might be the faintest memories of Latin.
Regulus sighs, scrubbing his face with his hands.
"There you are!"
The sound of Pandora's voice has him turning in his chair. She enters the common room and the hole in the brick wall patches itself behind her. She marches right over, hands on her hips.
"Regulus Arcturus Black! I never thought I'd see the day!"
Regulus barely has the energy to sass her back. "What are you talking about?"
"Have you gone blind as well?" At that she spreads her arms wide and tilts her head at him.
Regulus's eyes rake over her. She's in full quidditch gear, hair pulled back into two twin braids. His confusion slowly gives way to absolute horror.
"Non!" He flies out of his seat, wide awake now. "Baise! Shit, Reese is going to murder me!"
"Oh, don't worry about that. I told him you were in the hospital wing. Not the most original excuse, but I was pressed for time."
Regulus deflates just a tad. He runs a hand through his hair to help clear his thoughts. "I don't understand. I thought practice was scheduled for 6:30?"
Pandora looks at him as if he's speaking another language. "It was. See?"
She holds out her arm for him to inspect. On her wrist is a child's watch with a picture of a cartoon mouse in red shorts on it's face. The mouse's gloved hands act as the arms of the clock and are currently pointed towards the seven and the nine.
Staring at the watch, Regulus realizes he hadn't actually bothered to check his clock that morning. Confused, he shakes his head.
"Wait, so...it's the same as yesterday?"
"What is?"
"The time. The time, yesterday it was the same time as today?"
She gives him that weird look again. "Yeah, that's kind of how time works. It repeats itself."
"Yes but the time! The time is always different!" He gestures enthusiastically, voice tired and thick. "Or it was. But then if it's 7:45 now then this morning was the same time as yesterday? Right?"
It's quiet aside from the fire crackling in the hearth. Regulus breathes heavily, waiting for an answer. The one he gets is hesitant at best and frightened at worst.
"I think you need to get your alarm clock checked."
Regulus sucks his teeth and throws his hands up. What kind of response is that? Get his alarm clock checked. Well the jokes on her, cause if his alarm clock is broken then so is her watch. Clearly she hasn't read Hogwarts: A History. If she had then she would know all clocks, even ones brought from the outside, automatically sync to the clock in front of the Great Hall. The only time they would ever change is if the main clock—
"...baise."
Regulus steps away from the table, only to turn back again. His feet stutter, moving him in circles that don't make sense. His hands curl into fists.
"Oh...fuck! Fuck, those fucking—" He pounds his knuckles angrily against his head. "Fuck!"
"What are you—"
"It's them! It's them! Don't you see? I—" His eyes bulge out of his head as he paces. "I've been looking at the wrong thing. This whole time I've been looking in the wrong place, Merlin, how could I be so stupid?"
Pandora eases her way over, trying to guide him gently towards the staircase. "Okay, Arcturus, why don't we just—"
"Non! Non!"
He points a finger at her, daring her to try and calm him down again. She goes quiet, her hands held up defensively.
"Come with me."
Regulus takes her hand, hauling her back out into the dungeons. She makes no effort to get away or convince him to turn back as they climb higher and higher into the castle. After just a few minutes— much quicker than Barty's first attempt, thank you very much— Regulus has them stood in front of the glass trophy case. He speeds through the tunnel, mumbling under his breath the whole time about how stupid he's been and how stupid they are and how the whole thing is stupid, stupid, stupid.
He kicks the false dresser in and clambers into the Gryffindor common room. Heading straight for the stairs, he's only distantly aware of Pandora providing illegitimate apologies to the students who just witnessed a breaking and entering.
"Arcturus, please tell me you have good reason for—"
"You bet your fucking arse I have good reason!"
He stomps up the remaining flights of stairs before reaching the fourth floor. With no hesitation and no warning, the door is thrown open with such severity that it bangs into the wall and bounces back.
"What the fuck do you four think you're doing?"
Peter gives a pathetic squeak, rolling off his bed and hitting the floor. Remus jumps about a mile, holding up the jumper in his hands to shield his scarred, undressed torso. The bathroom door swings open, revealing a very confused and concerned James Potter. Sirius is no where in sight.
They're all still for a moment. Peter's head pokes up from behind his mattress. "Regulus?"
"Surprise surprise. Answer the damn question."
"How the hell did you two get in here?" James takes a step forward.
Regulus whips out his wand, stopping James in his tracks. He sweeps his arm around to the other two, including them in the threat.
"I'm not leaving until I get a fucking answer so one of you better start talking. What have you done to the clocks?"
James's eyes go wide. He turns to check in with Remus and Peter. All three share a knowing look before Peter chokes out a noise and slaps a hand over his mouth. On cue, each boy devolves into a fit of laughter. This only serves to make Regulus angrier.
"Merlin— Idiots! All of them!" He turns to Pandora, gesturing broadly across the room. Regulus has never seen a person look as utterly lost as she does.
The laughing continues, roaring in Regulus's ears. James holds his stomach, leaning against the doorframe for support.
"Why Regulus," he wheezes out. "Whatever do you mean?"
"What could we possibly have done to your clock?," Remus gasps.
"It's not just my clock! It's all of them!"
They laugh harder.
"That's...that's ridiculous. How would we...every clock in the...how..." Peter doesn't manage the rest of his sentence.
Suddenly, a dramatic gasp comes from Regulus's side. He looks to Pandora and looses some of the tension in his body when he sees her glance down at her watch. She does seem a bit more amused by the ordeal than he would like but he'll let that slide for now.
"I knew it! I knew you could mess with the castle's time somehow! Good gods, that's incredible!"
"Don't applaud them! You're undermining me!," Regulus hisses through his teeth.
"No, no. Let her speak!" Peter is rolling on the floor.
"We truly don't know what you mean, though." Remus has calmed himself enough to speak clearly. "We haven't done anything."
"Don't bullshit me, Lupin. I'm not stupid."
"You sure about that?"
Regulus whirls around at the additional voice, finding Sirius standing at the entrance to the dorm. He grins and steps forward to grab Regulus around the neck, messing his hair thoroughly.
"Little Reggie wants to be a Gryffindor now, does he?"
"Laisse-moi partir!" Regulus tears away from him. He groans, running his fingers through his curls to fix them. "Unbelievable."
"It is though, isn't it?" Pandora turns her gaze to Sirius. As she speaks, she draws closer and closer towards him until their faces are inches apart.
"I mean given the level of security at Hogwarts there has to be at least a dozen spells protecting the integrity of the clock alone. Otherwise there would have been hundreds of incidents like this by now. The fact that you managed to not only detect and reverse each spell guarding it is impressive, but to reinstate them without any of it backfiring. And every day, at that. It's spectacular!"
Regulus has to admit, when he's not on the receiving end of Pandora's outbursts, it's quite enjoyable to watch.
"Huh." Sirius leans away. He focuses on Regulus, pointing a finger at the girl. "She's, uh—"
"Absolutely mental. Yes." He reaches forward, placing a hand on Pandora's shoulder. "Let him breathe."
Pandora hums, taking a big step back. Sirius nods warily.
"Sirius, tell your brother he's gone mad." Remus mumbles through the thick wool of the jumper being pulled over his head.
"Has he now? Runs in the family."
"He thinks we've been mucking about with a time turner!" Peter chimes.
"Enough. Listen up, all of you." Every eye in the room is on Regulus. He moves slowly, directing his wand at the three boys in front of him. "Fix. The clocks. Now. I don't give a shit if you think it's funny. We want to sleep."
"And if we don't?," Peter asks, his voice clearly taunting.
Regulus feels his blood boil. He digs deep, harnessing his anger into something he can use. His eyes flick over to James and he smirks.
"You're right, Potter. How did we get in here?"
Something in James's smile shifts. Before any of them can answer, Regulus turns on his heel and starts down the stairs. Pandora bids a cheerful goodbye as she follows him. She bounces along at his side once they're back in the hall.
"I think that went well!"
————————
??????, 1974
Not surprisingly, the marauders completely disregarded Regulus's threats. After what feels like another week but could very well have been two, the entire castle is in various and conflicting stages of REM. Regulus has become eternally bitter.
It's in the middle of Charms class that things finally come to a head. The sound of McGonagall's voice comes from seemingly nowhere, projected all throughout the castle.
"Attention all professors: please escort your students to the Great Hall immediately for an announcement from our Headmaster."
Pandora goes straight to Regulus. "Think it's about the clock situation?"
"I don't give a shit anymore, frankly," he says. He stands up and pulls Barty's chair out, yanking his head off the table to wake him up. "Let them get in trouble for it."
As they walk down to the Great Hall, Regulus can't help but notice how the sun has just now chosen to make it's way above the horizon.
Dumbledore doesn't keep them waiting very long. He comes before them to say that the clocks will be restored to their proper time and as for today class will be dismissed. At this, Regulus squints over to the Gryffindor table and finds James, Sirius, and Peter positively beaming. He scowls when Remus catches his eye, and in turn Remus sticks his tongue out playfully.
Dumbledore wraps up his speech, setting the children free for the day. Regulus stops Pandora and Barty just outside the doors of the hall.
"I need to have a word with these idiots."
"Oh please." Barty talks through yawns. "You're just mad you didn't think of it first."
"As if he would ever actually do it," Pandora laughs. "Arcturus would rather die than serve a detention."
Regulus doesn't give in to their teasing. He waits until the boys are finally excused from whatever conversation Dumbledore and McGonagall were holding for them. James drags Sirius out in a headlock, both boys fighting to overpower each other. They go back and forth about who's more at fault and what lead to their punishments as they fall over each other. Peter and Remus exit after them and Regulus seizes his moment, running up and squeezing between them.
"Please tell me you tried to talk them out of it."
"Actually," Peter boasts loudly, "it was Remus's idea in the first place."
Regulus's jaw drops, turning to Lupin with a stunned expression. Remus only laughs at him.
"What can I say? I'm a Marauder."