"Echoes of Time"
A/N: To those of you who have read my previous stories, I am sorry for taking so long to update any of them. Life had been very, very busy, but I'm working on it. As it is, this story suddenly popped in my head and I had to write it before it left me. I hope you will understand and I hope you enjoy this story! Please leave a review!
Disclaimer: All characters and places belong to J.K. Rowling, the plot is mine! :) Lyrics at the beginning of chapter one are from the song "Echoes" by Young Guns. Enjoy!
"On and on it echoes,
Memories that flicker in my head.
Hard to let go,
I follow like a lamb to slaughter led.
Time moves so slow;
Recite our verses,
Poems for the dead.
Hard to let go,
Watch it rot 'til nothing's left."
Chapter 1
Their voices carried throughout the backyard. Loud, boisterous laughter and shouts of glee made by the Weasley children and their friends…all except for one.
They were all due to return to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry within the following few days and the Weasley twins, Fred and George, has decided to throw them all a "small, going away" party: complete with copious amounts of firewhiskey, butterbeer, and fireworks.
"Another!" yelled Harry as he downed yet another shot of firewhiskey.
"Harry," Hermione warned. "Don't you think you've had enough?" She said quietly to him.
"My godfather, the closest I've ever had to a father just died and Voldemort tried to possess me roughly two months ago. Who knows what he'll try to do this year?" He replied roughly, grabbing the glass that Ron had grabbed and held out for him. Hermione took a step backwards, her mouth agape in shock; feeling almost as if she'd been slapped across the face.
"Lay off of him, Hermione. He's been having a rough summer so far." Ron said quietly, putting a hand on her shoulder consolingly. "Just allow him this night to let loose a little, yeah?" He walked away from her, rejoining the small gathering of family and classmates.
Hermione looked around her; she was left just a little ways away from the party, by herself. She quickly downed the rest of the butterbeer she had left in her bottle. She needed space. She couldn't believe that her friends were being so ridiculous. Sure, after everything that had happened they deserved a little bit of fun, but excessively drinking and dancing around a large bonfire wasn't Hermione's idea of fun. Plus, there were way too many people for her to feel comfortable. In fact, nobody would probably even notice if she decided to slip away for a little while for some time to herself.
She began to walk to outskirts of the Weasley property seeing the Burrow shrink further and further away until she reached her favorite spot. She found a giant oak tree situated next to a calm, quiet, small lake during the summer before her fourth year while staying with the Weasley family for the Quidditch World Cup. She decided to go for a stroll one morning to get in some summer reading while the weather was nice and found what was now her favorite little spot. She sank down on the soft grass, her back against the rough bark and roots of the Oak tree, just staring off into the distance. She began to think about what happened just a few short months ago at the Ministry of Magic. Harry had had yet another vision from Voldemort, and this time he was holding Harry's godfather, Sirius Black, hostage in the Department of Mysteries. Only, it was false. Voldemort had learned about the connection between his and Harry's mind and it was all a set-up. He intended to use Harry to obtain a prophecy that had been made about him and the boy. A battle ensued between Harry, his friends, and Voldemort's followers: the Death Eaters. Thankfully, the Order of the Phoenix, including the Headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore, had come to the rescue. Unfortunately, not everyone made it out; most importantly, Harry's godfather, Sirius. His deranged cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange, killed him. Hermione shivered at the thought. Mostly everyone received minor scrapes and bruises. Hermione however, was cursed during the battle and was left with a dull soreness and had to take no less than 10 potions a day for several weeks following the attack. She didn't know what curse her attacker, Antonin Dolohov, had used, but she knew it was like a purple flame was sent forth from the tip of his wand, aiming for her chest, as it licked it's way up the left side of her body. She had tried to research it in the library before classes ended but couldn't find anything of significance on it. She vowed to possibly get a pass to the restricted section during the new school term to expand her research and possibly find a cure to the soreness she felt from time to time.
There was also one more thing that Hermione had neglected to tell anyone. During the battle, trying to get away from the Death Eaters hadn't exactly been easy. In the Department of Mysteries, there were several doors that led to all different sorts of rooms. One of those rooms housed no more than 100 time-turners. She was trying to escape one Death Eater with Ginny, when the young girl had casted a very powerful "reducto" spell, causing all of the rows of the magical devices to fall upon the dark wizard and crash upon him and the floor… but not all of them. Hermione had managed to snatch one before it fell to the ground and smashed into a thousand pieces. This was possibly the only one left in Great Britain!
She removed the time-turner from beneath her light sweater and held it in her palm. She had refused to remove the necklace from her person since that day, afraid of losing it. She stared at it intently, wondering how the devices worked. She had researched them in her third year when she had been granted permission to use one to attend all of her extra classes, but only briefly. She looked at it now and wondered why other witches and wizards would use them. Had anyone ever used them to go back in time for more than just a few hours? Had anyone ever done that? Was it possible to go back even a few years?! If it was possible, why didn't anyone use it to stop the Death Eaters from getting into the Ministry and killing Sirius? Or the deaths of Harry's parents, Lily and James Potter? Why wasn't it used to stop the rise of Lord Voldemort while he was still in school?! She thought she heard a slight whisper coming from the device but passed it off as the alcohol she had drank and the wind, she was a lightweight after all. She looked back to the time-turner after looking around to make sure nobody had found her. She noticed that the sand inside the hourglass, situated in the middle, was a slight red color. "That's odd." She thought to herself. Every other one she had seen or read about had been a slight golden color. She shook the thought from her mind and returned to those previously, about nobody using them to change the past, although she knew that there were serious consequences when meddling with time, to change the past for the good and safety of the future!
She closed her eyes and held the time-turner tightly in her hand. The wind began to pick up, as did her anger about nobody using this special magical device to alter the past. She felt a slight sting against her hand and opened it to see the sand inside the hourglass begin to glow. She was confused and nervous at first but her eyes widened and her fear increased as she realized what might have been happening. Before she could let go, the world around her started to spin, and then suddenly her world went black.
Hermione opened her eyes, blinking slowly. She rubbed at them as she tried to take in her surroundings. She was still lying upon soft grass, but was surrounded by many trees. She wasn't sure if it was the alcohol from the party, but she knew she hadn't been smashed from the party like the rest of her friends, but something felt off. She then realized that she didn't see the lake she had been sitting near, or the oak tree. She didn't even see the Burrow in the distance. In fact, the air was a lot cooler where she was, reminding her of her second home in the Scottish Highlands, reminding her of "Hogwarts?" She thought. She strained her eye to see through the light mist that was surrounding her, confirming her thoughts.
"Oh no, oh no! What have I done?" She quietly whispered to herself.
She sat up slowly, staring up at the gates of Hogwarts for the first time in slight horror. She suddenly saw somebody approaching and quietly prayed that it was Albus Dumbledore and that he could help her figure out what had happened.
"Hello? Are you lost?"" A voice asked her. He certainly didn't sound like Dumbledore. She drew her wand, ready to attack if this person meant her any harm.
"I'm sorry, but I'm looking for Professor Albus Dumbledore. I'm a bit confused at the moment and have some questions that only he could answer for me. I must speak with him immediately." She responded, the figure still too far away for her to make out their face.
"Well, perhaps I can help you. Unfortunately the school term hasn't started yet so he hasn't arrived yet. I see you have a wand and you seem to be young, you must be a student. I am currently the Headmaster here at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." Hermione stared wide-eyed as the gates opened and she finally recognized the man standing in front of her. His name was Armando Dippet, the former Headmaster before Dumbledore had taken his place after his passing.
Her face Drained of all color as she realized what must have happened for her to be in this predicament. The time-turner, which was once around around her neck, had sent her back in time…but not several hours. Not even several years! No… it had sent her back several decades! Judging by the style of the wizard's robes, and that fact that she was talking to Armando Dippet (whom was supposed to be dead), she deducted that she was sent back to sometime in either the 40's or 50's.
"What year is it?" She asked faintly.
"I'm sorry?" This man, apparently Armando Dippet, asked her.
"I said, what year is it?" she repeated, her wide, chocolate brown eyes finally making eye contact with him.
"Well, what a silly question. It's 1944 of course!" He replied chuckling. Her face drained of color for the second time in such a short span of time. This wasn't good; this was not good at all. Not only was she sent back decades in the past…oh no. She was sent back to the exact time when a certain wizard would be attending his sixth year at Hogwarts. She was sent back to the time when Tom Riddle Jr., later to be known as the darkest wizard to terrorize Great Britain, currently attended classes. She gasped in horror and fell to the ground before she fainted with one thought on her mind. She had to find a way back to 1996, or face attending classes with a young Lord Voldemort.
A/N: Thank you all for reading, I hope you enjoyed it! I already have plans for Chapters 2 & 3 and can hopefully write and upload them by the end of the month! I also know somewhat where the story is going to end and already has several different endings planned! Leave a review, favorite, and follow and let me know what you think! Much love, ToriLynn