AN: Hey everyone! I got the idea for this story and just couldn't get it out of my head so here is the first chapter of many to come. I do not have a beta and wrote this all in one pass so any and all mistakes are mine. If anyone has followed my other story do not fret I have not abandoned it I have simply lost my muse. Hopefully this story will help get her back. As always read and review! I love to hear what you guys think and want to see from the story.
The breeze was cool and light as it played across Hermione's skin. She smiled softly to herself as she took a sip of her morning coffee and felt slender arms envelope her from behind. A nose buried itself in her neck and she leaned back into the form behind her.
"Mon amour" the figure said with a wide smile as she placed a kiss on Hermione's neck.
Hermione smiled and turned around to look into the deep cerulean eyes of her wife. Placing her left hand on Fleur's cheek, Hermione leaned in to capture Fleur's lips, the ring on her finger sparkling in the rising sun. They stood on the porch of their country home, green hills and water spreading out among trees as far as the eye could see.
"I really must go to work my love," Hermione said as the pair pulled apart. Fleur's eyes sparkled mischievously as she pulled Hermione close.
"But we both know I need you more than they do" Fleur purred in Hermione's ear. Hermione blushed and playfully shoved her wife on the shoulder before leaning up to kiss her once more.
"You've made me late enough Fleur Isabelle Delacour."
"Mmmmm I do not agree ma cherie but fine if you must. Tell Harry and Ronald that I say hello." Fleur smiled and gave her wife a hug before stepping back. Hermione winked at her before disapparating with a subtle pop.
Hermione arrived at the Ministry a few minutes late and winced as a loud voice called out from behind her as she snuck into her office.
"Delacour! Just because you were once a famous part of the Golden Trio and are practically royalty does not mean that you get to be late to work. Do not make this a habit."
Hermione sighed and shook her head as she took a seat in her office chair, taking a look at the large pile of paperwork neatly lined up in the center that was no doubt dropped off by her assistant that morning. A note on top of the stack caught her attention and she furrowed her brow as she read it.
"Please come to the Department of Mysteries at your earliest convenience. There is a case on which you must consult on at once" the note read.
Hermione frowned before standing up from her chair. She made her way out of the office and nodded to her assistant as she passed her. At the elevator Hermione pressed the 9 button and waited as the doors shut and the elevator began to move. As the doors opened on the 9th floor Hermione spotted a familiar pair talking next to the entrance of the Department of Mysteries. Harry and Ron both turned and smiled as they embraced their friend. Harry was the first to speak once the trio broke apart.
"So, I see that they have called you up on this case as well huh? I can't imagine what it would be to need our opinion and expertise."
Hermione nodded her agreeance. "The head aurors and the head of the Department of Magical Creatures… doesn't seem likely that our ministry positions would be called in to consult on the same case. It must be something to do with our status as the Golden Trio then, it's the only explanation I can think of."
It was at that moment that the doors swung open to reveal a figure who was for all intents and purposes completely unidentifiable. The man was in fact so plain that one's attention seemed to just glide directly over him without truly noticing him. It was from these facts that the trio deduced that he was an Unspeakable.
"Quite right miss Granger" a deep voice spoke. "We have recently discovered something quite unsettling in our continuing clean up of the aftershocks of the war. As you all three know, there remain deatheaters and those that believe in Voldemort's ideas even this long after the war has ended."
The trio followed the man into the vast room that appeared empty save for a table upon which a small ornate silver box sat. The group approached the box and were surprised to see a unique silver pocket watch resting in its' center.
"We found this in the jungles of South America believe it or not. We had been tracking a group of particularly nasty enthusiasts when we stumbled upon this box in the ruins of an ancient temple. We know it to have some incredibly powerful magical qualities and protective spells surrounding it though most of them we cannot even begin to crack or understand."
"If the best minds in the world can't crack it then what the bloody hell do you expect us to do about it?" Ron asked with a look of baffled amusement.
Hermione frowned at the man while Harry stifled a laugh. Hermione, always up for a good puzzle or challenge, observed the object herself. The Unspeakable laughed and nodded as he continued.
"Well, our belief is that the object holds many qualities of a Horcrux. There seems to be strong blood magic at play as well as many protective and, how should I say, enticing spells on it."
"Enticing?" Harry questioned.
"Indeed. You remember the way that the Horcrux's twisted your mind and called for you to believe and do things darker than what you would normally? Well, this particular object seems to have a similar effect without the dark magic. The object also seems to hold a sort of sentience that we have yet to see in a magical artifact beyond that of perhaps the sorting hat at Hogwarts. We have spent weeks testing the object but have found nothing, that is until it spoke to us."
"Spoke to you?" Harry looked at the pocket watch with an odd expression before turning back to the man before them.
"We had discovered that the object was not connected to any dark magic and was as far as we knew completely harmless but vastly powerful. One of our recruits offered to take the testing a little further so we proceeded to lock him in a magical bunker to test the effects of the object. The moment that he touched the thing he went catatonic and remained that way for over 3 days. When he came out of it he was seemingly mad with excitement about what he had learned. According to him, the object is looking for someone though it couldn't say who. The object showed him its creation and its use over the years." The man paused and took a deep breath.
"The findings are extraordinary I must say. However, that is not why I am here. The watch said that the timeline is always changing but that the chance to make everything right is but a breath away. What our guy suggested is that this pocket watch can do the impossible and send someone back in time as far as they would like to go."
Hermione's eyes were wide as she listened. "That's impossible. There have been countless witches and wizards over the centuries that have tried to create such a thing and all have failed. No one has ever traveled more than a couple years back in time and even then there were dire and fatal consequences."
The man turned to look at Hermione with a small smile. "Ever the bookworm I see miss Granger. Indeed which is why we did not believe him. We thought him to be mad until he recited the strangest poem with eyes glassed over."
"I am Time and me alone,
Can tell the story down to every stone,
The son of Merlin I am,
Seeking my Master once again.
Though he is gone,
I shall always remain,
For I am Time,
And Time will always stay.
There is one who belongs to three,
It is them I seek and no one else,
For the Master of Time must truly be,
A worthy successor to Merlin himself."
The man recited the poem and all three members of the Golden Trio looked as baffled as ever.
"What in the bloody hell does that even mean?" Ron laughed. "Time isn't something you can control and smash into a tiny clock."
"I assure you mister Weasley that we believed the same thing initially. But, after much research we discovered an ancient text about Merlin which mentioned a few of the magical objects that he created before his death many centuries ago. As you all know, Merlin was considered the father of magic and though we have no idea how he obtained magic we always presumed it was somehow innate within him. This text suggested that Merlin created a number of magical items one of which was a device which gave the wielder unparalleled power and knowledge by giving them control of time itself. The text did not say much other than that Merlin marked the object so that it would find a new master with the innate ability to rival his own. There were a number of limitations listed in Merlin's own notes about the object including that the wielder may not travel forward to the future."
Hermione looked like someone had just told her that she just gained access to every book and tome on the planet in that moment and the man laughed as he noticed her excitement and intrigue.
"If you remember, Merlin was the one that created the enchantment that held King Arthur's sword in place. There is a similar locking enchantment on the pocket watch that we have been unable to even partially break through. We have made some progress though on a particular locator aspect of the enchantment which is why you three are here today. Our understanding of the locator enchantment is that it indicates where one can find the so called master mentioned in the cryptic poem. Once we broke that part of the enchantment, everyone in the room was thrown into the very center of the Battle of Hogwarts quite like one would be in a pensieve memory. We identified the perspective as belonging to one of you three according to multiple eye witnesses who can confirm that you three were all standing in the same line of sight at the moment we were shown. So, we are here today to see if by some miracle any of this is true."
The stunned and apprehensive looks that the man received from the trio were quite comical and he shrugged with a look that said he was just doing his job. He gestured to the silver pocket watch and looked at Harry who stepped forward hesitantly and picked up the cold piece of metal. Harry laughed as he set the item back in its case, earning odd and curious looks from his friends.
"The damn thing said one destiny was enough for me" he explained.
Ron stepped forward and picked up the watch next, setting it down moments later with a face becoming quickly as red as his hair.
"It has a sense of humor I'll tell you that. Better be careful 'Mione that thing has an attitude nearly as bad as yours was back when I tried to get you to help us with our potions essays." Harry laughed along with Ron as they waited for Hermione to pick up the watch. The woman turned toward the pair and stuck her tongue out at them as she reached forward.
"Well it's a bloody good thing I don't have to go through that again then isn't it" she retorted with a wink.
The moment that her fingers touched the cold metal of the watch Hermione felt herself being wrenched deep within the recesses of her mind. She now found herself in a dark room lit by rows and rows of floating candles. There were bookshelves that lined from the floor to the sky and further than the eye could see down in length. Leaning against one of the shelves with a book in hand was a tall and slender man with dark hair and neatly groomed facial hair. He was completely unfamiliar to the woman and as such she began to panic despite her fascination at the endless knowledge laid out before her.
It was then that the man looked up from his book and Hermione was startled to see vivid silver eyes staring back at her. The man's book vanished from his hands and he gestured to two seats that appeared in between them.
"Do have a seat dear you look quite faint. Not that I can blame you, I really do have an impressive collection." The man's smooth voice rang through her head in an almost ethereal way and she slowly made her way over to one of the sofa chairs.
"Where am I?" Hermione asked.
"Hmmmm everywhere and nowhere."
"What kind of an answer is that?" Hermione asked frustrated.
The man simply smiled and conjured to glasses of warm tea which he promptly handed one of to her. "It is an honest answer my dear. The best of answers. Though I presume you want to know more. Always the studious one you are."
The man squinted at her and sipped his tea before continuing.
"I am Time, much like Death who gifted the Deathly Hallows, I too have given humanity a gift in the form of that pesky little pocket watch you now find in your possession. You see, when he was a little boy, Merlin already had so much magical power. Back then there was no one to train him and accidents continued to happen as he learned to control his magic. So, when his father taught him to watch the stars and sun to track the passage of time, Merlin was fascinated. As he grew older he became desperate to find an equal, a better even, and so he connected with an energy he did not quite understand. This energy was time itself. Like Death I appeared to Merlin and found him to be an excellent student and an even better friend. When it was nearing his time to pass, Merlin asked if he could use my power to live on in spirit and so this watch was created to store his memories and soul in a way that would not prevent him from moving on into the afterlife once Death claimed him. As Time I do not truly serve anyone or anything but Merlin was as close to a master as I will ever have. As much as I taught him, he taught me. He created a way for me to remain physically in contact with mankind and for that I consider myself, at least in this place and body, to be his son, his creation. One day I would find the person to take over the knowledge and power contained within this watch and I have waited centuries to find that person."
The man paused to sip his tea once more, a small smile tugging at his lips at the absolute wonder expressed on Hermione's face.
"The body you see before you is merely a portion of my spirit. I allowed Merlin to create the first time turner with a fragment of my very being and so a part of me, a part of Time itself, remains within this object. I am more a mix of Time and Merlin than I am a true representation of the spirit and being that is Time. However, I can serve as a window to Time if needed. For now, I am an independent sentient being derived from the fragment of Time and the soul of Merlin built to serve those who are worthy. Admittedly I've been awfully lonely waiting here so you can imagine my excitement to finally be sitting across from you."
"Me? Why in the world would Merlin and Time itself be interested in me?"
"Ah Miss Granger you have no idea of the power within you. But you will learn and you will become a true embodiment of magic as it was in the days of Merlin." The man leaned forward and smiled as he summoned a book from deep within the collection. "Start here Miss Granger and read as much as you would like. This entire library is yours from now until your death. Here, we are in a limbo of sorts, time is at a standstill and when you choose to return you may let me know. You will not feel hunger, thirst, fatigue, loneliness, or anything else that would prevent you from gathering all the knowledge you wish while you are here."
The man disappeared without a sound and Hermione was left alone to try to wrap her mind around the past couple of minutes. After awhile, she realized that everything was indeed real and not part of some elaborate curse or dream and decided to read the provided book. The tome was interesting and Hermione soon found herself reading one after another.
It would be many years later that Hermione finally took a break from reading to notice that she had read thousands upon thousands of books. She called upon the man who said she could call him Chronos if she wished.
"Chronos how long have I been gone?" Hermione asked.
"If time had passed it would have been 3 years, 64 days, 27 minutes, and 12 seconds." Chronos responded. At that, Hermione dropped the book she was holding in shock.
"I must go back. I have so much to share, so much that I have learned."
Chronos nodded. "When you wish to return, simply hold the pocket watch and will yourself back here."
With a smile, Chronos took Hermione's hand and gave it a squeeze. She felt a sharp tug at her navel far worse than apparation and found herself lying face first on a cold tile floor. As she came to, she heard the worried voices of her friends above her and sat up rubbing her head.
"Bloody hell 'Mione you scared us!" Ron yelled as his friend woke up.
"Guys you simply won't believe what just happened to me," Hermione said excitedly as she rose to her feet.
The first thing she noticed was that they were in fact not in the Department of Mysteries but rather in what looked suspiciously like Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. As she regained more focus she looked at herself in the mirror and screamed. Instead of the war hero, ministry head, and happily married woman she expected to see, it was a very young version of herself flanked by similarly young versions of her two best friends that she saw.
"I did not just bloody travel back in time" she muttered as she ran a hand through her hair. Slipping a hand in the pocket of her robes, Hermione felt a familiar metal trinket and sighed. Deep within her mind she could practically hear Chronos laughing and she mentally cursed him.
Now an adult woman with the knowledge of a future yet to come and magic beyond that of a fourth year student, Hermione Granger looked at herself in the mirror and vowed to use this opportunity to stop the war from ever taking place.