Hello!, So this is a new one. I am not dead, I haven't dropped off the face of the earth, I promise. I am also not J.K. Rowling. Her sandbox, I just get to play in it.
Time is a Funny Thing
Chapter 1: Mischievous Little Boy
"Romulus Fabian Lupin!"
The green-haired three-year-old looked up innocently from the parchment he had previously been shredding. His amber eyes widened comically as he pouted his lower lip.
"What, Auntie Lily?"
Lily Potter sighed tiredly and snatched up the parchment before scooping the toddler into her arms.
"Rom, you're lucky this wasn't something important, like Professor Longbottom's essay that's due after holidays are over," she plopped the boy into his crib and turned on the nightlight, "Mommy and Daddy will be back soon, but now I think its naptime."
That was when the crying started again. Teddy and Vic better be thankful. However much I love the little monster, it is the last Friday of holidays and I could be out with Cassie. The fifteen-year old witch, near identical to her grandmother and namesake, pulled back her auburn hair and pulled the door closed. Her adopted brother had left his son in her care whilst he and his wife, Victorie Lupin nee Weasley, celebrated their three year marriage anniversary by visiting their Uncle Charlie in Romania. Although the boy was staying with Ron and Hermione Weasley, the two were out on a Ministry call. Hugo Weasley was supposed to be watching him with her, but he remembered he "had plans" with Albus, James, and the rest of the New Marauders. Rose was busy preparing to meet her boyfriend's parents. She was so nervous that Scorpius had to brew a Calming Draught for her before Apparating them to the Malfoy Manor. All of this led to Lilly's current position: laying on the couch at the Weasley residence and trying to drown out the sound of an incredibly unhappy toddler.
"Merlin, Rom. You've got a pair of lungs," she groaned pitifully before shoving her head under a fluffy pillow. After about fifteen minutes, the crying finally started abating. Hesitantly, the redhead experimentally raised the pillow and breathed a sigh of relief at the silence that met her ears. She stayed sprawled out on the couch for a few more moments relishing in the silence that rarely made an appearance in her life. At that moment, someone began incessantly knocking on the front door. And 3…2…1. The rambunctious toddler renewed his crying with vigor. Whoever it is, they are dead…or at least hexed four ways to tomorrow and back. With an almighty sigh, Lily rushed to soothe the child and opened the front door.
"What do you want, James?" she asked dryly.
Her brother stood in the doorway with a grin that screamed of mischief. Behind him were Albus, Hugo, Fred Weasley, and the Scamander twins.
James looked affronted, "Why, Lily dear! How rude! And to think we just wanted to keep you company." He pushed his way into the door and flopped down onto the couch.
"You know, I really think I ought to get you a muzzle," a female voice came from behind the tall twins.
"Cassie! Thank Merlin you're here! I thought I would be stuck with these idiots all night," Lily went to hug her nineteen-year-old friend, "I still don't know how you put up with him."
"Honestly, neither do I. It's like I'm constantly babysitting him…even when were out on a date," the ex-Slytherin smirked as she daintily sat upon her boyfriend's lap.
"But you still love me!" James said as he kissed her on the cheek.
"Eh. I think I'll keep you."
"Will you two stop it? It's sickening," Lorcan Scamander's voice called out from the kitchen.
"Yeah. What did you do to him, Cass? He used to James Sirius Potter, Mischief Extraordinaire. Now he's James Potter and Cassandra Montague, The Unlikely Couple."
"Thanks a lot, you guys," a blushing James responded.
"Hey! Paws off the Chocolate Frogs!"
"You said the box was up for dibs!"
"Except the Frogs!"
"You didn't say that!"
"Did too!"
A ruckus exploded from the kitchen as the twins and Hugo emerged squabbling over a box of Chocolate Frogs. Lorcan was on Hugo's back while he was fighting against the headlock Lysander had him in has he used his height and head the box above Hugo's head. The dozing toddler was now wide awake and cheering on wrestling teens. Giving the boy to Cassie, who passed him to James, who set him onto the floor, Lily began to snatch at the box. James, who until now was content to watch, turned on his big brother mode" and entered the fray to protect his sister from his friend rambunctiousness. Cassie yelled out, but it was too late. The tangle of limbs slammed into a cabinet along the wall and it came tumbling down.
CRASH!
The cabinet, and everything in it, narrowly missed Lily's head as it made it way hurtling to the floor. There was silence in the room until the famous Potter/Weasley temper made an appearance.
"SCAMANDER! YOU BETTER GET YOURSELF OFF ME AND CLEAN UP THIS MESS!"
The two twins in question scrambled to get up and quickly pulled out their wands. After a quick, Reparo, the cabinet righted itself, but left a mess of broken glass and scattered knick-knacks in its wake. Lily pulled herself up and assessed any damage done to the items in the cabinet.
"Bloody hell, are you guys alright?" Cassie asked as gave James a hand up.
Hugo, finally getting up from his stupor, replied, "Yeah, I think so. Just a couple bruises."
"If it's you boys, don't expect me to heal it. That was the result of your own stupidity," the ex-Slytherin smirked.
Lorcan glowered from the floor where he was picking up some papers that had scattered in the scuffle, "Oh, shut up, Cass."
"Your own fault, idiot," Fred Weasley II replied from the kitchen doorframe, smirking victoriously with a mouth full of Chocolate Frog.
"Hey! Those are mine!" Hugo lunged at Fred, intending to get regenve for his poor half-eaten Chocolate Frogs.
"Petrificus Totalus!" Albus waved his wand as the ginger's arms and legs snapped to his sides, "Merlin, you really are Uncle Ron's kid, aren't you, Hugo?"
A chuckle sounded throughout the room as said kid's heated glare flickered between his cousin's hand of stolen chocolate and his other cousin's snickering. Unbeknownst to the teens, the youngest of the lot had made his way over to one of the boxes that littered the ground when the cabinet fell. Curiously, he pulled it into his lap and tried opening it. Unfortunately for him, or rather, fortunately for everybody else, the small ornate box stayed closed. As he struggled with the magically locked contraption, his older companions continued their conversations while cleaning the mess made. Once Lily's irritation waned, her thoughts turned to her brother's reason to visit.
"So, James, what in blazes are you doing here?"
"Well, we were going to play a game of Quidditch,"
"But Jamsie here didn't want to play without seeing if,"
"His Little Lily-Bug kid sister,"
"Wanted in on it," The twins responded with identical smirks.
"Aw, come on, guys. Don't make it sound like that James groaned, plopping back onto the old couch.
"You know you love me," she laughed.
Meanwhile, little Romulus finally unlocked the box and was thrilled to find a pretty hourglass on a chain. Content to spin it to his heart's delight, he sat turning the glittering piece and giggling happily.
"Yeah, I do. But anyway, Headmistress McGonagall said that you had been getting better on broom and I wanted to test your chaser skills," her brother replied.
"Said? The woman was basically singing your praises of improvement and how you were going to crush Slytherin…then she realized I was in the room," Albus laughed.
"I'm not any better than you or Freddie were," Lily said, a faint blush at her Headmistress's praise.
Cassandra suddenly let out a gasp, "Is that a Time Turner?"
The group looked at young Rom, who was still spinning the hourglass madly.
"NO!" Lily jumped up and snatched the necklace away from the toddler.
A loud rushing sound and the sensation of falling overwhelmed Lily Potter and a bright light glowed from the sand that seemed to be expending out of the hourglass. She lost track of where she was, who she was with, even who she was. All that was left was the roar of the wind, the feeling of being squeezed through a tube, and the blackness that became the only other thing in her existence. Her friends and family stood dumbly, staring at the spot where she disappeared as Romulus Lupin cried about the loss of his new toy.
The wind swarmed around Lily as she fell through nothingness. Her screams were unheard because of the deafening wind surrounding her. Sometimes unrecognizable objects would fly past her before she could get a look at them. After a while, she lost her immediate fear as she continued to fall. I wonder if this is what Alice felt like when she fell down the rabbit hole. Her curiosity grew as more and more objects rushed past her. Her thoughts turned to where she was going…or more importantly when she was going. As of a sudden, her thoughts flew out of her mind as a stone floor came up to greet her. With a loud crash, she was thrown onto the floor in a large room with floor to ceiling windows that looked out onto beautiful grounds. Once she caught her breath, her eyes turned to the Time Turner in her hands and shrieked. The sand had begun expanding and cracking its confinement of glass and in a bright flash the entirety of the piece burst and shattered.
"No, no, no, no. no!" Lily frantically whipped out her wand, "Reparo! Reparo! Reparo! Dammit! Come on!"
The glass and sand sat on the ground glittering innocently at her. Her breathing rapidly increased and her heartbeat rose as she began to panic. Calm down, Lily. Breathe. In. Out. Breathe. Calm down. She calmed down her hysterical breathing and stood up, surveying her surroundings. When she peeked out the giant windows covering the room she gave a shocked gasp.
"Is that the Forbidden Forrest?"
Breathing in relief, she made a quick plan. Get to Headmistress McGonagall, talk to her, and get home. Composing herself, she ran a hand over her face and let out a surprised yelp as her hand came into contact with tiny shards of glass. Looking around, she discovered a vanity in the corner of the room which she was pretty sure wasn't there a moment ago. Her reflection showed her frazzled hair, rumpled clothes, and slightly bleeding face and shoulders. Delicately, she picked the pieces of glass out with minimalistic yelps and curses. When she pulled open a drawer, she found a cloth and quickly wiped her face before checking her reflection again. She was still bleeding in places.
Bloody hell. I'm pants at healing magic. I'd better get to Madam Bones.
Taking the cloth, she brushed the remains of the Time Turner into the cloth and took it with her. As soon as she exited the door, she recognized the seventh floor of her beloved school. Turning around, she noticed the ornate door behind her slowing disappear. Wait…that sounds like what dad said the Room of Requirements did. The Room of Requirement was one of the only places that had not been restored when the castle was rebuilt after the Second War. Not only was it too damaged, those who could remember that the great Albus Dumbledore's death was caused by the Room weren't too keen in seeing restored. Wait.
"What is going on here?" Lily backed up, but shrieked loudly when she ran into someone.
"Oh! I'm so sorry! Are you al-" the young Gryffindor stopped, "Goodness! What happened? Do you need someone to take you to Madam Lanson?"
"What?" Lily replied dumbly, "Oh! Um, sure. I'm Lily. Lily Po-Porter."
"Oh, you must be visiting. I've never seen you before and I've been here for three years," the girl chirped happily, "My name is Minerva McGonagall, but you can call me Minnie."