A/N: I'm back! I hope you like this as it is when the story really starts. Recap- Howls looking for a spell so he can travel back in time to listen to a conversation. Sort of show how bored Howl is but do not fear! Something's going to go wrong. Come on, it's Howl. Did you really think it was going to be simple?
Disclaimer: Don't own it. *depressed sigh*
Chapter 2 – The Plan - doesn't go to plan
After a lot of searching and preparing and checking and reading and a small tea break in the middle of it all Howl had everything he needed.
Shut in his room to prevent any disturbances, he folded up the instructions and placed them in his pocket. Standing in the middle of a chalk circle, lifted up a small bottle of a liquid he had concocted and poured 10 drops of it onto the floor, then said "Et Ponam Oculos Retro Praeteriti Temporis Iterus"*
He closed his eyes as a thought came into his head. Would Sophie mind if he did this? His body was submerged into darkness.
When he awoke he found himself lying, not on his bedroom floor, but in...
"Market Chipping!?" Howl exclaimed. "How did I end up here? It's miles away from the castle; I'll never make it there in time." Disappointed at his failure, he stood up only to realize just how busy Market Chipping was. He was about to move out of the way when he remembered that nobody should be able to see or feel him. This theory was proved correct as one of the busy shoppers walked straight through Howl's thin body. It made him shudder. "It's as like I'm a ghost" he said out loud. Deciding that he had a while before the spell wore off; he went for a wonder down the street.
He stopped after a while. The shops were different he noticed. Then he noticed that the style of clothing was slightly different too. Older. He decided to try and find a newspaper or something, like in the time travel films he had watched as a kid growing up in Wales.(A/N: Dr Who once again... I apologize)
He stopped at a building that caught his eye. It was newly painted in bright, bold colours. The sign above the door read in gold lettering 'Hatters'. Peering through the window he did not see Sophie but the back of a man working hard at something on his workbench.
"Damnation! I have gone back much too far. I must have done the spell wrong or something..."
He searched through his pocket and pulled out the folded piece of paper which he studied for a minute or two. "Nope, I followed it to the letter." Confused by the situation he found himself in, he once again glanced into the hat shop window. There was something about that man that was familiar. The man however was facing the other way so Howl couldn't see his face.
"I shall just have to go in" he said, the local paper lying on the man's desk caught his eye.
Howl walked up to the front door and reached for the handle. His hand went straight through it, then the door and as Howl overbalanced his whole body fell through too. He cried out as he landed on the shop floor with a thud. He huffed. He would have to remember he would just move through things. Sliding his whole body through the door, he stood up and dusted himself off. Thank God nobody saw that.
Walking cautiously up to the table where the unknown man was sat, Howl looked over his shoulder to read the date from the newspaper.
"This was about... 14 years ago. Oh."
It seemed that Howl was off. Very off. But why? He had done the spell perfectly, but why here, why now?
He stopped and stared in astonishment as a 5 year old girl came bounding. He would know those deep hazel eyes anywhere.
"Hello Daddy!"
"Hello Sophie dear!"
A/N: Oh dear. Howl got it wrong again... He will be able to see the past, just a little bit more than he had intended.
Big thanks to my first reviewer – ThaliaTrisEllie. I really appreciate your support!
*This is latin for: Turn back the time so I can see the past once more. I don't actually know latin, this is off google translate.
