Time Is Tricky

Chapter 1: Time Is Tricky

Hermione and Ron made their way down the sloping lawn toward the stone stairs that lead toward the boats. It wasn’t more than a few hundred yards, but Hermione felt as if it took forever. A feeling of dread and overwhelming pain settled under her ribs the closer they got toward their destination. Ron went ahead of her, his wand out at the ready just in case they came upon a Death Eater that hadn’t been rounded up yet. Hermione clutched her hand around the Time Turner, feeling the little hourglass press into her palm.

Not long now. I promise we’ll fix it, she thought desperately. A flash of onyx eyes and a worried frown burst into her mind. She gulped down her fear and tried to summon up her Gryffindor courage. The pounding in her ears made her want to vomit.

She stumbled down the stone stairs toward the boathouse, biting back the nausea that tried to claw its way up her throat. Ron’s violently red hair flashed in and out of view in front of her as he hurtled around a curve in the stairs before coming back to assure her it was safe. She tried to feel relief that he was with her, but Hermione found it hard to focus on anything at the moment. Her mind turned over and over about the things that she needed to do in order to set the whole thing right.

When Ron reappeared the final time, she looked at him with dismay in her eyes. She could tell by his expression that she looked terrible. The way he reached out to her, the twitch in his jaw tipping her off that he wanted to take her into his arms, told her enough. Deep inside, Hermione felt lost and afraid. She wanted to be able to curl up in the familiarity of Ron and their friendship. She wished, just for a moment, that she could forget. That she could bury the hurt that was burning through her veins and go on.

But she couldn’t. It wasn’t fair to Ron. And it wasn’t fair to Severus.

Ron cleared his throat and looked away for a long moment. Then he tucked his wand up his sleeve and reached out for her hand. He clasped her fingers tight in his own, giving her a reassuring squeeze. Hermione looked up and felt just a little of the trepidation ebb out of her.

“There’s a place just around from the boathouse that we can hide in. I don’t think any of the Death Eaters would have found it earlier.”

Hermione nodded firmly, clutching the Time Turner against her chest. She felt her heart beating beneath her fingers, her blood pumping through her body in time with the pounding of her heart. “Go ahead. Show me.”

Ron pulled her along behind him, along the stone quay where the first years’ boats were moored. Hagrid’s great boat was stored in the boathouse, the only real place they could hide to make sure that the Death Eaters wouldn’t find them when they appeared hours before the end of the battle. From the boathouse, they could get across the courtyard to the Shrieking Shack without being spotted. Then they could be there to save Severus before Nagini’s venom took its toll.

Ron tapped his wand on the lock of the boathouse and muttered a spell to spring the door loose. Hermione danced on her toes behind him, holding tightly to the Time Turner as if it were her only lifeline. It was as if she could hear the seconds ticking away from her, knowing that if Harry or any of the others caught them they would never make it back. No matter how much Severus had helped them, she knew that Harry would never let her risk herself to save him.

With a click, the lock sprung open. Hermione pushed past Ron and looked around hurriedly. Once she convinced herself that no one else was there, she waved Ron over. “Hurry! Stand close.”

Ron stepped in to Hermione as close as he dared. Harrumphing, she snatched his wrist and tugged him close enough that she could wrap the chain of the Time Turner around his neck too. She whispered to herself, trying to figure out how far back they needed to go in order to save Severus. Her fingers trembled.

“Two hours. That should be enough.”

“Are you sure, ‘Mione?” Ron’s voice trembled just a little with worry. He’d never traveled through time before.

“Has to be.” Hermione put her fingertips to the tiny hourglass and took a deep breath. Just as she was about to twist the Time Turner, they heard a voice outside the door of the boathouse. It sounded very much like Harry.

“Quick, ‘Mione!”

With trembling fingers, Hermione gave the Time Turner a twist. A burning, tugging sensation wrapped around them. Ron felt the chain digging into his neck, the force of time swirling around them dragging him close to Hermione. It was like traveling by Floo and Portkey and Apparating all at the same time.

The world around them blurred as time slipped backward. Just as they should have been slowing down, settling into the flow of time two hours prior, something happened. The Time Turner shuddered around their necks, the world around them giving a violent shake and jerk. Hermione watched as the Time Turner began spinning faster and faster. She tried to wrap her hand around it, tried to curse it into stopping and throwing them out into the correct timeline.

Their ears filled with the sound of shattering glass as the Time Turner began to crack. In one instant, the little hourglass splintered into a thousand little shards. The sand splattered out around them, the whip of time rushing past sucking it away and into the space between the seconds. Hermione shouted into the void, the great swish of time carrying the sound past Ron’s ears.

And suddenly, without warning, they slammed into the floor of the boathouse. The Time Turner’s stream dropped them out with a crushing finality. Hermione landed hard on her arm and felt the bones snap and shatter all the way up to her elbow. She let out a violent scream that echoed around the boathouse.

“No!”

Ron dragged himself to his feet and wiped away the blood from his neck and face. “Hermione! What happened? Are you okay?”

Tears swept down her face. Tears of pain and frustration and a feeling of loss that she never could have predicted she would feel. There was no fear of where in time they had fallen out. As long as they were at Hogwarts, they were safe. But she knew now that there was no hope in saving Severus. Whenever they had fallen out, they would never get to him now.

Suddenly, the door of the boathouse opened. Ron looked up, wand at the ready, to see a pair of boys step into the room. One of them wore glasses and had untidy black hair. The other had a smug grin, his shirt tail hanging over his belt and his robes flapping open. They looked from Ron to Hermione and back again.

“What the bloody hell happened here?” asked Sirius Black.

Notes From The Mistress: I hope you're intrigued! Please review, it means a lot to me!