Sometimes we are only given few minutes to be with the one we love, and, thousand hours to spend thinking of them.

Every person in his/her life, has this horrid moment where he/she is incapable of thinking what to do next. A certain brilliant witch, Hermione Granger, certainly did not like this feeling. She had always know the answer to every question, and raised her hand to answer them all out of sheer habit... But when the most important teacher,'Life' asked her a question, she was ashamed to bend her head and stand quietly.

The war was going on ... and on. She hated the war so much. It brought so much destruction, and grief to see the people you loved to be killed. It just took a second to kill the life of a loved one. You just flick your wand, say the dreaded curse, and the person to whom it was hit to is dead. Simple.

That's what happened to Fred Weasly. And that's what happened to Tonks, and Lupin, and Dumbledore...

Hermione did not know where Harry was now. He hopefully had not given himself up to Voldemort. She really hoped. But Harry was this kind of devastatingly brave idiot who would so easily give himself up for the betterment of the school. She sighed her frustration. She could see Ginerva Weasly battling a certain death eater who had stunningly long locks of blonde hair, and she saw Molly Weasly screaming at the death Eater and running towards Ginny concernedly.

She also saw Ron take down a snarling Death Eater, and remembered her moments with him. She took a deep breath and thought determinedly Now or Never... She was about to rush into the battle field again when a ghost came gliding towards her. The ghost looked at her carefully and then said in a soft lilting voice, "Aren't you Hermione Granger? Come... "

Hermione was not eager to leave her friends, but she sensed that this was important. She followed the ghost dodging curses fired by death eaters, and ignoring the shrieked shouts of pain surrounding her. They arrived at the 5th floor, near the Room of requirement. The room had unfortunately been burnt to ashes by the fiendfyre of Crabbe's curse. Evryone had ceased fighting here. Hermione moistened her lips... It would not do to miss that room. She remembered the sessions of DA they had held, and all the fun they had. Why did this castle only hold bad memories now?

The pale ghost scrutinized her gravely. "Do you know who I am?" he asked.

Hermione had never personally met him, only in passing, so she shook her head.

"I am a... I was a professor. You wouldn't have heard of me. I was an Unspeakable. I worked on the mysteries of time. Just a few years ago, I was this young genius who had absolutely no problem with Arithmancy. It was so easy for me! In one second, I could solve anything! So I easily got the job I was aspiring for. I was delighted when I stepped into the Department of Mysteries for the first time. The place was so huge... and perfect or me to study." He stopped his tale, looking at Hermione, with a wistful look upon his face. After a minute, he continued. "I had an urge to understand a certain entity that everyone else had failed to comprehend. Time. Always, it is time which outlasts wizards, it outstrips us so easily! Well, I guess i could not take that." he spoke the last part very bitterly. he remained silent, and Hermione was sure he would remain silent until she prodded him on. But he broke his silence immediately after that thought came. "I had eventful years, and well, Grindelwald came. He had no reason to hurt me at all, after all, so I had a little talk with him about my experiments. he was fascinated too, and he asked me to join him. He would give me a place where I could study time more efficiently...

"I was curious. Which place could I study time better that the Department of Mysteries itself?I agreed. I do not regret that decision even now. he took me to a cave in France. I was blindfolded and taken there. i was so exited that I did not protest. He showed me a cave of the early wizards... It is common belief that the early wizards had not at all developed their magic. well, I will tell you this." he leaned forward melodramatic.. "they knew much more than we do now. they knew how to control time! Their language was not english, or any other language that we speak now. So I spent tedious hours in figuring out the language... And when I did, I was really stunned! they made predictions that now-a-days wizards would be incapable of making! they had found a way to travel into time, in a way that is not restricted by the limitations of the time-turner." he pause again. Hermione was getting exited by this now.

"I tried it. I tried time travelling. I went 50 years backwards in a well, per se, second. i do not know how Grindelwald knew of that area, but he knew. Well, I came back to the present, and I developed the habit of making huge breaches in time with it. I changed the present with my time travelling. you wouldn't believe how many things here are influenced by me. I did not influence the war, of course." he hastily added, seeing the suspicious look of Hermione's.

"Then I discovered, too late, that my hair were graying when i was just 24 years old! time was having its horrid revenge on me. And due to weakness, I died... too course, I came as a ghost." he sighed.

Hermione encountered a doubt now. "Why are you telling me this?"

"A very good question!" exclaimed the ghost. "well, here's the deal: I will tell you how to travel into time, and you will change time forever. No Tom Riddle, no Voldemort." he smiled triumphantly. "i hate this war, honestly. Did yu know I prevented the II world war from taking place for a long time? Hmpf!"

Hermione cocked her head, "But did you not tell the adverse effects of time travelling?"

The ghost looked at her sharply. "Are you telling me a Griffindor is afraid?" She quickly shook her head. "good then, are you ready?"

Hermione blanched. "Now?" she asked. And for a moment there, she felt like a Hufflepuff.

The ghost looked at her. "And I chose you because you were both brave and smart. Pfft!"

They were in the toilet which had been haunted by Moaning myrtle. The ghost was telling her the steps to prepare herself. She prepared herself quickly and he told her the incantation too. To her, it really sounded french. She took a deep breath. "I am going to kill Tom Riddle and come back here."

The ghost looked at her knowingly and that made her squirm uncomfortably. She desperately wanted to tell Ron tha she was going, but she thought not. He would never allow her to do something this risky. maybe Harry had rubbed off on her too much.

When she uttered the incantation, she registered a dry chuckle and the voice of the ghost calling out. "Oh, I don't really think you'll be coming back... Not sure you actually WANT to."

She wondered wha exactly he meant by that.