The Hands of Time

The Hands of Time

Well, first of all, I own nothing. This is the beginning of a several chapter fic that will be continued soon. Harry, Ron and Hermione will find a lot more complications with the timeturner, and face the struggle of getting back to the present, alive.

Chapter 1: Going Back

Harry examined the timeturner he now held in his hand. How odd it had been to find it in Hogsmeade! It had merely been lying at the side of the cobblestone street, as though someone had simply dropped it there and forgotten it. He had noticed it, when it seemed no one else had. He looked at it. It was a small hour glass made of gold and glass, filled with crushed crystal, a long chain attached to it, and the words TimeTurner clearly engraved in the gold. Harry knew how to use a timeturner. He'd used on only once before, in his third year, to save Sirius Black from the Dementor's Kiss. Now, it was May of Harry's sixth year, and Sirius's name still hadn't been cleared. Harry also knew that timeturners were very dangerous. The Ministry of Magic usually outlawed them, except for special circumstances. No one was supposed to change time. No one.

Harry was supposed to meet Ron and Hermione outside Three Broomsticks in a few moments. He wondered if he should show them the timeturner. Hermione, who disapproved of just about everything that was potentially dangerous, would never approve of Harry having a timeturner. Ron, on the other hand, would probably like it. Harry's pondering was disrupted by Ron's voice.

"Hey Harry!" he called out from down the street where he was walking next to Hermione, who had her nose buried in a particularly large book. "Harry, what's that in your hand?" Harry hadn't thought quickly enough to hide the timeturner from view. "Is that a—"

"A timeturner!" Hermione exclaimed, now looking up from the book she'd been reading. "Harry, where'd you get it?"

"I found it," Harry answered, doubting that Hermione would approve of this. "It was lying at the side of the street."

"You can't keep it," said Hermione flatly. "You have to get rid of it. It's extremely dangerous!"

"Get rid of it?" exclaimed Ron. "He can't get rid of it! You never get rid of something as good as a timeturner! Don't listen to her, Harry!" But Harry wasn't listening to either of them. He had a timeturner. He could go back in time to any time he wanted. His parents! He could go back to when James and Lily Potter were still alive. Maybe he could even save them! No! He told himself pushing the thought aside as soon as it came. He couldn't think like that. They were dead. There were more dangers than ever imaginable involved in even attempting it. So Harry tried to forget that the thought had ever crossed his mind. He wouldn't use the timeturner, but he would keep it. Who knew when it may come in useful?

"But you used one!" Ron was arguing with Hermione.

"That's different, Ron! I had permission!"

"But I only want to go back three hours to when Fred and George gave me that cockroach cluster!"

"Ron, it's dangerous! What if someone saw two of you? Or worse, what if you saw yourself?"

"I'll be careful Hermione! I just want to try it! You guys got to!" Harry could see that neither Ron nor Hermione were going to give in easily. He knew that Hermione was right about the danger, but Ron hadn't ever gotten to use a timeturner. What could a few hours hurt if they were careful?

"Why don't we just go back an hour or two so Ron can see how it works?" suggested Harry. "We'll be really careful that no one sees us." Hermione frowned. But Ron grabbed the chain attached to the timeturner that Harry still held, and placed it around both of their necks.

"Coming Hermione?" he asked. Hermione reluctantly joined them, grumbling about how she had to go along to prevent them from doing anything stupid.

"Remember, only two hours," she told Harry.

"Okay," said Harry. "Here we go." He turned the timeturner, once, twice. Suddenly, the timeturner began to spin violently, emitting a blinding white light. Harry was blinded. There was a faint humming sound. They spun in every direction, so Harry couldn't tell left from right and up from down. They could have been rising or falling, he couldn't tell the difference. He couldn't even tell if Ron and Hermione were still there. He tried to shout, but couldn't find his own voice. The humming noise grew louder and louder. In an instant it went silent, and the white light was gone. Harry felt his feet slam against the ground so hard that he stumbled forward and nearly fell. When he regained vision, he found that Ron and Hermione were still next to him, looking as surprised as he felt.

"What happened?" asked Ron.

"I don't know," said Harry. "The timeturner just sort of went out of control and started spinning, on it's own." Ron shivered.

"It's colder than it was before." They looked around. The trees were covered in brightly colored foliage.

"Oh my," said Hermione. "We-we must have gone back to last fall."

It was definitely fall. But was it necessarily last fall? Harry's eyes caught on a particular group of people walking down the crowded street. There was a woman with curly, fiery red hair, milky white skin, and bright green eyes that were unmistakably Harry's. Next to her stood a man that could have, perhaps, passed as Harry's twin. He had the same untidy black hair and friendly smile. Harry felt a jolt in his stomach. Were they…

"Your parents?" Ron asked him. Harry couldn't respond. His mouth hung open in shock. It couldn't be. But they were, unmistakably, James and Lily Potter. They weren't alone either. On the other side of James was a short, stocky man, who Harry recognized as a young Peter Pettigrew. Behind them, walked to other men. One was Remus Lupin, Harry's old Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. He looked very different without the large circles under his eyes and wrinkles on his face. Next to him walked a tall man with black hair and eyes. Harry didn't recognize him, but he knew who he had to be. Sirius. A Sirius before the horrors of Azkaban. None of them looked to be more than twenty. Then Harry noticed something else. Lily was pushing a stroller. Him! Harry was looking at himself as a baby! He was with his parents. Without the horrible scar that now showed plainly on his forehead. But what were they doing here? Why had the timeturner taken them to this time?

"Harry," said Hermione shakily. "Harry, w-where's the timeturner?"