This chapter is dedicated to JanuaryLily who threatened not to write until I republished this.
While Cassieopeia would forever declare "We blew up a time turner", the unintentional trip through space and time was one of the few things Riley would admit was her fault.
Afterall, she was ridiculously proud of that fact.
As a descendant of generations of skilled wizards and witches, she found it more interesting to be original then successful. And if there was one word that could not be applied to the beginning of their adventure, that word would be 'success'. Or intentional. Or intelligent.
This words meant nothing to Riley.
It began with a walk through the woods.
Cassieopeia led the way. She walked a straight line, staying on the path, periwinkle eyes scanning for a space to work in. Riley had claimed she already had a spot but Riley was distracted. Casseiopeia Black was rarely distracted-her thin, sharp face was unmoved by most things. When she did break and allowed herself to relax the effect of her evil grin was marred by a rather adorable gap between her two front teeth.
Riley was off the path, hopping between the tree roots and occasionally clambering up to the lower branches to look ahead. Her head was a tangle of dark brown curls that trailed madly down her back as she ruffled them over and then away from her face. Her eyes were always intense and her face vague even as she outwardly shared the seriousness of her much shorter friend.
"You know, if you could figure out that enlargement charm, we could do these things in a basement." Riley complained with a laugh, her next jump similar to an overly excited puppy.
"Oh?"
"And then I wouldn't be in danger of being mistaken for a puddle."
"What do you mean?" Cassieopeia asked. She was still watching for a meadow or pond or some other large break in the trees.
"I mean, we get a lot of exercise trudging out into the middle of nowhere all the time." Riley replied, throwing her hands up in mock despair. "And my robes are soaked. Drenched. I'm probably giving this tree twice its yearly water supply just dripping on it."
"That's because you insisted on wearing full Nomaj clothes underneath them." Cassieopeia observed, changing course as she spotted a nice gap in the trees, right in the spot Riley had told her about. She herself was wearing only her Nomaj clothes, her robes remaining safely in her pack.
"I was cold." Riley sighed, glancing up at the unusually cloudy summer sky. "And I will be a gain as soon as we stop.. Which we are… Have."
"You're a witch, Nox. Build a fire."
"You think we're far enough from the Nomaj?" Riley frowned at the dense forest around them for a moment, trying to sense the spell that forbid underage wizards from performing magic in Nomaj society. "Yep and here's a campfire spot. How nice. Incendio."
Casseiopeia was setting up a series of magical items in the middle of the clearing. "When you're warm and toasty again, mind giving me the time turner?"
"What did you bring again?" Riley asked, pulling out the time turner which she'd stolen from her brother who'd bought it off an ersewhile cousin. "I remember your theory but…"
"I went for simple." Casseiopeia pulled out her notebook and quill. "We want to see the past. Time turner for past. Crystal ball for seeing."
"Well, try it then. Though you still want something for location." Riley said with a shrug, flicking her wand at the fire and making it spark dozens of strange colors. Her mind was preoccupied with her own ideas. "I doubt the history of random field in Michigan is quite as interesting as the British Wizarding Wars." Riley made a violent slash with her wand, banishin the smoke so that only fire remained. "And remember; my brother still needs that thing to study for the test and he will-"
"I know. I know." Cassieopeia muttered. She returned to scowling from her notes to the two objects. "How were you going to combine the powers? I was thinking-"
"Hang on." Riley spoke several spells quickly, ending with "cave inimicum". She turned bck to her friend, again ruffling her long curls from her face. "Concilio. Or Coeo Unisco."
"Hm." Cassie twirled her wand casually. "I was thinking Unose Ostendite."
Riley nodded. "More specific. I'd start with that. Accio Marshmallows. Oh don't look at me like that. Do you experiment and I'll toast some for you." riley caught the bag of marshmallows as it zoomed past. "Accio stick." She settle down to roast her marshmallows. Cassieopeia ignored her.
Cassieopeia began her experiment by pulling on her robe, knowing that experimental magic was likely to get messy and that her robe was the least favorite of the clothes she had with her. Pulling back her blonde hair into a slick ponytail, she knelt down in front of the two magical items and frowned severely before placing the clear ball on top of the time turner and pronouncing her spell. The ball glittered but only showed a picture of the time turner. Cassieopeia rolled her sleeves back and settled into a cross legged position before rolling through Riley's spells one by one. The picture in the glass ball only went blank. Finally she took her ball and walked to the fire, where Riley was attempting to spell sticky marshmallow off her hands without getting it on her wand but instead had only managed to change the flames to purple.
"Your turn."
"Watch the fire."
Riley pulled out an assortment of magical and nonmagical objects and began combining them with the time turner and a variety of spells. By the time Cass's marshmallows were done roasting, the time turner was spell-o-taped to a foe glass and sitting in the remains of Riley's previous attempt which included a pile of floo powder and dragon's blood.
"Did you simply bring every magical object you could think of?
"Forgot the Remembrall," Riley joked.
Casseiopeia toss the remains of a marshmallow in her mouth and came to investigate.
"And what was the floo powder supposed to do?"
Riley, too busy calculating a new theory, didn't actually listen to the question. "Magic."
"Ah." Casseiopeia said flatly. She turned to the fire and pulled the metal marshamallow stick from the flames where she'd left it. "Put the crystal ball in place of the foe glass and picture something."
With steady steps, Casseiopeia raised her wand and a bit of fire seperated itself and followed her gesture across the clearing. She moved the fire to the hover near the set up around the time turner. She waited a moment as riley hurriedly added several spells to their protective nexus. When Riley gave a nod, Casseiopeia blanked her mind and lowered the flame to the pile of floo powder.
Nothing happened.
The powder burned green, of course. But the time turner didn't seem affected and no picture of the past appeared. Riley groaned loudly.
"So much for learning anything about the magic of You-Know-Who," She collapsed onto her back and threw her arms over her face. The fire flickered but there was no change in the other objects. "Or whatever made that Dumbledore so powerful."
"Well, we don't really know enough about time turners. They're not exactly freshman spellwork." Cassieopeia replied. Riley grunted. "I can sense something happening though. Maybe all the spells you cast are blocking the picture?"
Riley, remaining flat on her back with one arm across her face, raised her wand hand straight into the air and commanded "Partis Temporus."
WUMP.
"What is that?" Cassieopeia asked, nervously backing away.
"The time turner?" Riley guessed. She looked nervously at the spot ten feet above her head, where light was beginning to gather around the spot where she'd pointed her wand.
WUMP.
"Oh no. Oh no." Riley said calmly, peering into the hole appearing in the top of her shield. She still had not bothered to even sit up. "I do not know the counterspell for my counterspell."
"Just do something!" Cassieopeia yelped. She drew her own wand, then raised her hands to block her ears against the swelling white noise that seemed to be spreading from the time turner.
"Easier said then...Oh!"
Without even a split second of second thought, Riley shoved herself off the ground, dashed half crawling to the middle of the field, and scooped up the flaming time turner.
She stared at it for a long moment, dazed by what she saw in the back of her mind as she held it.
"Nox!"
"Oh. Oh!" Riley turned and launched the time turner into the glowing light of her failing shield.
For a second both disappeared.
The everything else disappeared in a cloud of purple fire.
When everything cleared, Riley and Cassieopeia were gone, leaving behind only a few burnt marshmallows and a large crater in the forest floor.
And so their adventure began.