𝐀𝐈𝐌 𝐎𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐘𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐘┊ᴴᵃʳʳʸ ᴾᵒᵗᵗᵉʳ

55 ✥ 𝙿𝚊𝚝𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚞𝚜

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❝ Imagine the headline of the century—'The Head of Calisto Caught Stealing Dead Ferrets Right Under the Nose of the Minister.'  ❞

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𝕳ERMIONE 𝖙URNED 𝖙HE 𝖍OURGLASS over three times.

The dark ward surrounding them dissolved, and suddenly, Crystal and Harry felt as though they were hurtling through space. Something invisible tugged at them, propelling them backwards with astonishing speed. Colours and shapes blurred past them in a dizzying rush, their ears filled with a deafening roar. They tried to call out to each other but were met with a strange silence.

Then, as abruptly as it began, they felt solid ground beneath their feet, and the world snapped back into focus. Harry found himself standing beside Hermione in the deserted entrance hall of Hogwarts. Golden sunlight streamed through the open front doors, casting long, radiant beams across the paved floor. He looked wildly around at Hermione, the chain of the hourglass cutting into his neck. He took it off him and rubbed his neck.

Harry's heart raced, and he scanned their surroundings with growing panic.

"Hermione, what's happened — where's Crystal?" His voice trembled, the fear of losing her clawing at him.

A weak voice came from below, "Urgh. . . Here. . ."

Crystal was kneeling on the ground at their feet, looking disoriented and slightly nauseous. She had slipped out from under the chain's hold as soon as her feet touched the solid ground.

Hermione knelt beside her, her voice filled with concern. "Crysie, are you okay?"

Crystal coughed and managed a weak reply, "Don't ask."

"We shouldn't have brought you with us," Harry muttered, kneeling in front of her, his fingers instinctively brushing her hair from her face.

Crystal, looking pale and contemplating her life choices for the second time that day, replied, "Then why am I here? I don't even know what Dumbledore wants from me. I don't even know what's going—"

"Get up quickly! Harry, help her!" Hermione interrupted urgently. Harry quickly took Crystal's arms and pulled her to her feet, then dragged her weight pulling her with him.

"In here!" Hermione led them across the hall to the door of a broom closet, pushing them inside amidst the clutter of buckets and mops, and then slammed the door shut.

“What — how — Hermione, what happened?”

Crystal, patted her chest to steady herself and softly asked, "What's going on, 'Mione. . . "

“We’ve gone back in time,” Hermione whispered, showing them the chain they wore minutes ago, “Three hours back. . . ”

Harry found his own leg and gave it a very hard pinch. It hurt a lot, which seemed to rule out the possibility that he was having a very bizarre dream.

"I don't believe you," Crystal declared, skeptically.

"Believe me," Hermione insisted, pointing at the sunlight streaming through the gap between the ground and the door.

"Woah woah woah. . . just wow, really. . . Is that possible? I should take my meds if I'm probably hearing you wrong but—Can you show me once please?" Crystal was in awe, her earlier discomfort forgotten. She delicately examined the hourglass, holding it as though it were a fragile antique, "This small thing, you say sent us back in time? I don't see any kind of mechanism going on here. Can we try to reverse-engineer it? I mean, it will be good to study and learn what sort of technology— no, I mean magic they used—"