It had been a while since she had used a Time Turner. The one in her hand was different to the one she had used before too. Well, physically it was still the same. It still had the tiny hourglass in the centre, it still had the moving parts you twisted to activate it and it still had all the magical elements to it. This one, instead of being made of gold, was made of silver and had small crystals embedded into the edges. It was far more decorative than the other one had been which made Hermione wonder at the usefulness of it. The one Dumbledore had given her had also been legal, this one was decidedly not.
She'd been sent to recover it on the order of Fletcher, who was rounding up all non-registered artefacts as quickly as he could. She had read the missive herself and couldn't argue with the logic of the man. He was convinced that these remaining trinkets could fall into the wrong hands – those that remained at least – and needed to be accounted for. It was something she had been training for and she was only too happy to assist. The particular trinket in her palm now had been in the possession of an ancient witch who was only too glad to be rid of it, especially if it was going to cause her trouble.
Instead of going back to the office however, she had returned home. It was the last call of her day and she wanted nothing more than to make a hot cup of tea and relax with the latest volume of Witch Weekly – a rather guilty pleasure but one she looked forward to none the less. Yet, now that she was sat on her couch with her brew in her lap, she had the chance to really look at the object she had collected. It was more than a touch garish and didn't even look as though it would work. Even as she turned it over, one of the small crystals popped out of the socket and slipped onto the floor. Cursing, Hermione tried to see where it had fallen but there was no sign of it on the carpet.
She placed her mug of tea on the coffee table, next to her magazine and got down on her hands and knees. Not the most dignified of positions she knew but there was nothing that could be done about that. It didn't help; there was no sign of the little gem. Giving it up as a bad job, she returned to the couch and examination of the device. Some of the silver gilt was flaking away too, revealing a cheaper base metal underneath. Could they have cut any more corners when they made this thing? Hermione was beginning to suspect that it didn't even work.
Draining her mug of tea, she placed her cup back down and thought about it. Would it do any harm? To try and test the thing? It would save an awful lot of time testing it in the office tomorrow and then she would be able to apply for something a bit more exciting than fetching broken trinkets from feeble old witches. She could remember how the one Dumbledore had given her worked, this one was sure to work the same. The mechanisms were the same, just the base metal and the fact that it was falling to pieces. A small voice in the back of her mind tried to tell her that this was perhaps one of the silliest things she had tried as yet and that her job might well be on the line should she fail. Dismissing the warnings as folly, knew she was doing the right thing. Besides, the thing was broken.
Rising, she took the device with her to the bedroom and set it in the same manner as the one she had before. Five minutes of staring at the back of her head and she'd be back in the living room with her magazine in no time at all! Focusing completely on the twists she needed to make, she ensured that she got it right.
At first, the jarring sensation of passing backwards was as she remembered it; a little like the first tugs of a headache and the odd feeling that she was falling. It should have lasted mere seconds. It didn't. The feeling continued for far too long, the ache in her head intensified until she was forced to screw her eyes shut. The small voice that had told her this was a bad idea now began berating her with 'I told you so' and 'you should have known better.' Colour burst into her vision and a high pitch whining rammed through her ears. Clenching her jaw shut, she willed the screaming to cease, the noise to vanish and the lights to fade. Just as she thought it was too much, everything stopped. Hermione waited for her breathing to return to normal before she let herself open her eyes. What she saw was like nothing she had seen before, at least in the real world.
Instead of sitting on the bed in her ground floor flat, she was sat underneath a huge stone structure. The archway reached high above her and a first floor was in place. It appeared to be some sort of guild hall building but with the bottom floor missing. People walked underneath, coming and going about their business as if this was completely natural. Behind this was a large stone church that looked as though it had been there since the beginning of time. In front of her was a huge square, where yet more people were swarming about their business. Horses pulled carts taking goods here and there, stalls lined the outer edge of the square. The myriad of different scents hit her all at once: animal dung, sweat, roasting meat, vegetables and fruit that had been squashed on the ground combined to create a rather heady cocktail. The noise was almost unbearable, although better than the screaming that had accompanied her apparent journey back in time.
When she looked down at what she was wearing, she almost choked. A red taffeta gown flowed around her legs while a tight bodice cinched her waist. She found she could breathe well enough, which was something but other than that, she was completely out of sorts. She looked around the square once more, utterly bewildered. In her hands was a small drawstring bag. When she pulled it open, she found her wand, a few coins, he offending time turner and a compact was contained within.
"Miss Granger?" Someone spoke her name and she looked around, straight into the face of Molly Weasley. A relieved smile spread over her face and she let out a small sigh, "Are you well?"
"I am," she nodded. Slowly, she got to her feet and straightened her dress.
"Are you sure, you look terribly pale," the older woman said. She extended her hand to Hermione, who took it willingly and led her down the stairs.
"I think the closeness of all these people made me feel a bit odd," she replied. "I had to sit otherwise I would have fallen," she added.
"But on the steps? You should have said dear, we'd have called a carriage and got you home." Molly said. There was no real scold in her voice however and she began steering Hermione back into the throng of people. "You still look a bit pale, was there anything else you wanted from the market?" she asked. Hermione shook her head and Molly smiled. She remained silent as she was led through the crowds of oddly dressed people. The men were all in formal suits, immaculately dressed and upright in their walking. The ladies were the same. Everyone looked stunning in an old world kind of way. Old World… Perhaps the time turner hadn't been broken after all. Perhaps it had worked too well. That wasn't something she was going to worry about right now however.
Once inside the carriage, she was greeted by Ginny and Lavender. Their chatter stopped when they noticed how pale she was, "Hermione, whatever is the matter?" Lavender asked. Her pale eyebrows raised gently and her hand touched hers as soon as she was settled.
"I think it's the crowds," she replied as she settled down. She went to push the few stray strands of hair from her forehead but thought against it. Her hair was elaborately put up in some form of ornamental bun and if she touched it, it would all collapse and become a state. Ginny laughed a little and Lavender settled back against the soft couch.
"The colour is already returning to her cheeks, look!" Ginny said. The two girls lapsed back into their conversation giving Hermione time to think about what had happened. She looked out the window, watching the cobbled streets. The carriage passed through the town and down a wide street, also cobbled. The houses on either side were large, with a set of stairs going up and down from the street. She knew one entrance was from servants, the lower, and one was for the owners. There were fewer people here, each of them were richly dressed however and walking with the same upright posture.
The carriage pulled up at one of the houses and the door opened by a smartly dressed valet. A set of steps were placed in front of the door and a hand held out for the ladies to use. Hermione accepted it willingly and hopped lightly onto the ground. The others followed and she fell in beside Molly. The older woman led them up a flight of stairs to the largest house on the street. Hermione couldn't help wonder where such a fortune had come to pay for it. She dismissed the thought as unfair and focused on what she was seeing. She tried to make sure she wasn't gawking, clearly, whoever was here before her would know what the house looked like.
The interior was as cleanly decorated as the exterior. Pale colours lit the rooms into which she was led and instantly relaxed. Lavender appeared beside her in a moment and tea followed, "Are you sure you're alright?" she asked gently.
"I'm sure," she nodded.
"That's good, it would be a real shame if you missed Ginny's debut tonight," she said with a smile. "You know who is going to be there and he'd be very disappointed if you weren't," she added. An awful thought occurred to Hermione and she glanced down at her hand. Sure enough, on her left hand, the third finger to be exact; was a large shining white stone on a golden band. She did her best to smile at that but inside; it felt as though she had swallowed a lump of ice. Imagine being engaged to a complete stranger – worse, it could be someone she knew!
After sipping her tea, she coughed and rose from her chair, "I think I'm going to lie down for a while," she said. Lavender nodded politely before picking up a book. Seeing this as a good time to leave, Hermione fled. She darted up the stairs and managed to find a room that was hers – it had her name on the door! Once inside, she shut the door and pulled open her purse. The time tuner fell into her palm, in no less than three separate pieces. She starred at them and groaned a little. It seemed that her little trip into the past was going to be an extended one. What she was unable to get her head around was the fact that her friends were there. How could that be? Shaking her head, she looked over at the large bed that was hers and flopped onto it. She had a lot to think about, not least of which was who she was engaged to!
