Authors Note:
Hello everyone! This is my first fic on this profile. Read and Review. Don't like it? Then read something else, that's why it's called free will.
Summery:
Harry still has that question on his mind. What if Voldermort hadn't chosen me? The answers he finds, may not be all that they're cracked up to be...or are they? There is only one place he can go for answers; The Time Turner of Hogwarts. One-Shot. Inspired by "Time Turner" by The Ministry of Magic.
Disclaimer:
I own only the food in the fridge...and the books on my shelf *looks off innocently*
The Time Turner
"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry has many myths and legends. Most of which are true. What most don't know is that Hogwarts holds many other secrets. One of these is the myth of 'The Time Turner.'" Hermione, Ron, and Harry were in the library when Hermione began to read out loud from the book she was reading.
"Like the thing we used third year to save Sirius and BuckBeak?" Harry put his quill down.
Hermione shook her head, "No, this is a person," she began to read from her book again, "This woman looks only about 24, yet she's older than the school itself. Records even show her living on what is now called Hogwarts. Currently she resides in the Astronomy Tower, hidden by magic. If someone knows how to ask, The Time Turner can change a person's past or show them what could have been."
"So she answers the 'what if' questions?" Ron asked.
Hermione shrugged, "I guess so."
"What's so special about that?"
Hermione sighed, "you are so dense." She threw a quill at him.
Meanwhile in the Astronomy Tower
How long can I remain? Why do I continue to live...to never age? If only I could answer my own questions like I answer others. I would understand.
I can never see my own past, or future...that was not my curse. My curse was to show others. My curse was to watch those I grew attached to die.
My heart clenched. I closed my eyes to stop my unseen tears from falling. I still saw their faces. First Godrick, then his nephew William after him, after 50 more years I met Albus, then Severus.
I could no longer hold my silent tears back. Severus was my most recent loss...well in actuality it was Albus that I've lost. Severus wasn't to pass for about a year...thus is my curse of being a Time Turner. Would I never learn?
Severus came to me more often than any other. He'd ask about the future and how his actions would effect it. He would stay for hours until he'd gotten the right outcome, then he'd stay longer...talking to me. I couldn't answer back, but he seemed to understand that I enjoyed his visits.
The last time I saw him he admitted his feelings for me. He'd told me how he cared for a young wizard named Harry Potter. I'd seen and heard of him of course, but Severus always felt the need to elaborate. Before he left, for what he wouldn't ever know was the last time I would see him, he asked me to help Harry if he ever came to see me.
Of course I agreed.
"Uh Hello?" A male voice broke my internal never ending revery. I looked to the entry way. A student stood there holding up a lamp and holding an invisibility cloak.
He was of average height, dark brown hair, and brilliant green eyes...familiar green eyes. They reminded me of a student who used to come up here to study at night. She would talk out loud to the stars about her life and I missed it.
"Um...Time Turner?" He called out.
I sighed. He had to ask just the right way or I couldn't help him.
He rummaged in his pockets for a moment before finding what he wanted. "I wish to see the past, present, and future in motion. Please grant my request to know or change that motion?" He repeated it three times.
That's it, I smiled to myself and walked over to him before removing the glamour. Ethereal wind was blowing my white gown. The bell sleeves tickling my fingers while the hem played with the wood floor under my bare feet. My black curls twirled themselves around my neck and blew across my face. My gold clock necklace glittered against my chest
The boy's eyes widened with surprise. I waited for his request, I couldn't do much else.
He swallowed, "My name is Harry Potter," my heart jerked for Severus but I didn't let it show, "I was wondering...what would have happened if Voldermort hadn't chosen me?"
I allowed myself a sad smile for Severus. He'd often speculated that Harry would ask me this question. I nodded once and held out my hand for him. He looked confused for a moment before taking my hand.
Let time move to me. Let space bend to my request. Show me the reality of a new. Show me what could have been, and could change. I felt time and space move around me, taking me and Harry to an alternate reality.
Harry stood in front of a house that looked more like a piece of charcoal. He looked at the Time Turner confused. She had a unnatural beauty to her. The dress she wore seemed to glow a brighter white under the now full moon. Her hair looked almost blue under the light and her necklace caused beams of light to hit his eyes.
"Where are we?" He looked around.
The Time Turner touched his shoulder and pointed at the mailbox. Longbottom 62 Aurora Ln.
"Neville's house?"
She nodded and indicated the door.
"Go in? Won't people see us?"
She shook her head. The moonlight reflecting off her mirror-like blue eyes.
Above the large burnt house was the dark mark. It curled and swam in the sky, engulfing the surrounding clouds. Harry frowned at the sky and stepped forward.
The front door was ajar and woman was lying against a charred banister. Her wide frightened eyes said that she'd been killed by the killing curse. The Time Turner appeared in front of Harry and pointed to the right of the stairs. Harry followed her glance down a hallway. As he walked through the house he saw once happy pictures burnt and wilted, some were melted and most of the once elegant furniture was ruined. The Time Turner appeared once again and pointed to a door that was ajar slightly.
Inside was almost untouched. The only thing that was harmed was a once white crib. The bedding that had once matched the baby blue walls was blackened and burnt around the edges. The Time Turner stood at the crib, her face somber. She looked down and the sorrow in her eyes grew. Harry stepped forward and gasped. A small baby, his face in the same frozen mask as the first woman's. "Neville," Harry whispered. Memories of his friend passed through his mind.
The Time Turner nodded sadly. She took a breath and held her hand out to him again. He took it, wanting to be away from this awful scene.
Next they were on the streets of London. Posters of Voldermort lined the street with messages like 'Muggles=Work Force' and 'Do Your Duty, Turn in Mudbloods.' Muggles wore collars and were being ordered around like a wizard would a house elf.
Harry turned to the Time Turner, "No one Stopped him?" The Time Turner shook her head and looked out at the scene, her face a cross between sadness and disgust. "Why didn't anyone stop him?" Harry watched horrified as a wizard beat his muggle slave. The Time Turner gave him a look, "Right, afraid to."
Harry looked down at the cobble stones, "would I have been happy with my parents?"
The Time Turner held out her hand and Harry took it eagerly.
Harry looked at the house he'd seen in many photos from his parents friends. The Time Turner waited by a window looking in. Harry looked in with her and watched as another version of him laughed with his mom and dad. Ron, Fred, George, and Jenny were there as well. Jenny was sitting in the other Harry's lap looking at him like he was the sun.
"I would have been happy with them," Harry turned around and looked at the terror's that Voldermort was causing. Was his happiness worth so much pain to others? He shook his head. "Thank You. If that's all you need to show me then let's go back."
The Time Turner touched his shoulder and when he looked up she was watching him sympathetically.
The Astronomy Tower was still dark and dimly lit by the lamp Harry had brought. He checked the time and sighed in relief. The Time Turner had taken them back to a second after they'd left. He picked up his cloak and the lantern. "Thank you," he was about to put the cloak on when he noticed her face. She looked upset, and trying to hide it.
"Do you get lonely up here?"
The Time Turner looked at him confused. She shrugged but nodded.
Harry's brows furrowed, "would you like me to come back? Not for time travel but just to...talk?"
The Time Turner's face slowly grew into a wide smile and she nodded.
"Alright then, I'll come back again tomorrow?"
She nodded eagerly and pointed to the far wall, a name was carved into the stone. Harry held his lantern up and tried to read the weathered carving. "Astrid McDonalds?"
She patted her chest then pointed to the name again.
"You want me to call you Astrid?"
She nodded.
"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow night, Astrid."
So? Drop me a line and tell me what you think. I'm thinking about expanding it into a full blown story if I have time.
Here are some things to could tell me in a Review. I'll try and put some up with each story/chapter I post. You don't have to answer them, but if you need something to write about because you want to drop me a line then check them out:
Do you want to see more of Astrid?
Do you want to know more about her 'curse'?
What would you like to see for a plot in a longer story?
What didn't you like and why?
What worked for you?
Should the story be longer than a one-shot? Why or why not?
Thanks for Reading!
Peace, Love and all that Jazz
~Romantic Pagan.
