Disclaimer: Everything belongs to J.K. Rowling, the leader of the reading revolution.

Harry came to a stop before a large portrait of a bowl of fruits. He reached up to tickle the pear, smiling wryly thinking of his previous visits to the Hogwarts kitchens. The minute he entered the kitchen, many house elves clustered around him. One rather large elf with a bulbous nose, gave an exaggerated bow to Harry, his nose squashing against the kitchen floor.

"Oh, almighty one, James Potter, what is Pingy able to help you with today? But where is your friends, I be wondering? Sirius, The Blackest of Knights, Remus the Book Wolf, and the Super Peter?"

Harry was sure that the four Marauders had made frequent visits to the kitchens, and therefore, had requested the elves to call them by assigned nicknames. Perhaps, he thought, he could use this to his advantage. So, quickly shaking his head, Harry assured the elf, "No, I come here alone tonight. But . . . I need some supplies for something."

The elf's eyes grew round, and he asked in a whisper, "Is you boys planning another prank? We elves is helping you last time, but Professor Dumbledore saying we is not to help you 'wreak havoc' again."

Harry grinned conspiratorially at him, "This isn't a prank on the whole school. Just on the other boys. But . . . you have to keep it a secret."

Pingy nodded back excitedly, "If sir are not breaking rules, we is helping you! What is you be needing?"

Smiling, Harry pulled a small list out of his pocket. "I need both of these mixed and divided into two. Can you have them ready tomorrow morning? I'll come to pick them up."

Pingy accepted the sheet, reading it over, "Oh, almighty one, James Potter, I is having it ready for you tomorrow."

Harry was standing before a large stone gargoyle, staring inquisitively at it. "Lemon Drop?" he asked, "No, probably been used before . . . Fudge Flies?"

The gargoyle seemed to be smirking at him, so Harry glared back at it for good measure. "Er . . . Ice Mice!" The statue remained still.

Maybe it was muggle candy, Harry thought. "Yorkie! Flake! Starbar!" In the background, Harry thought he heard a faint snicker.

Harry slid his hand discretely towards his wand. "Accio cloak!" he thought, nonverbally summoning a light and transparent cloth.

There was a squeal, followed by a loud thud. Following the noise, Harry found himself at the top of a narrow set of stairs leading down to somewhere in the dungeons. Looking down, there was a dark, huddled mass at the foot of the stairs, and another lone figure standing halfway up the stairs.

"Lupin! Pettigrew!" Harry addressed. "May I ask you what you two were doing out of bed at this time of night?"

Peter, who had apparently fallen down the stairs in surprise, whispered pitifully, "We were . . . we had to . . ."

"Visit our friends, " said Remus, "They were in the hospital wing, and we had forgotten to send their homework earlier." Harry seriously doubted the truthfulness to this, but chose to let it slide. "Well," Harry said, tossing the cloak back to Remus, "I think it best if you returned to your dormitories, then." Remus turned to look at Peter, an incredulous look on his face at having been let off by Harry.

"Thanks-I mean, of course, professor," Remus replied, "And by the way . . . the password's Mars Bar . . ."

Harry smiled at Remus briefly. "Oh, and Mr. Lupin," he called, "Next time, you ought to remember, the Hospital Wing is near the East Wing of the castle, by the Charms classroom." With that, Harry returned to the stone gargoyle, leaving Remus and Peter wearing dumbfounded expressions.

Dumbledore sat at his desk, tracing the outline of Harry's time turner with the tip of his wand. He looked up as Harry entered. "Mr. Potter," he acknowledged, "Good evening."

"Good evening, professor, " Harry replied anxiously, "Have you, er, have you found anything?"

Dumbledore smiled benignly at Harry. "Yes, indeed," he said, "You mentioned upon your arrival that in your time the ministry's time turner storage had been destroyed?"

Harry nodded affirmatively.

"But," said Dumbledore, "Seeing as this is 1977; the time turners are yet to break. So, I took the liberty to place a request at the ministry for one".

Sliding open the drawer of his desk, Dumbledore pulled out a second time turner, placing it beside the first one on his desk.

"Harry, did you take Ancient Runes whilst at Hogwarts?" asked Dumbledore.

"No . . ."

Dumbledore continued, "If inspected closely, you will find that all time turners have a short inscription in Ancient Runes that summarizen the use of the turner. However, the time turner that brought you here had a different set of runes. And . . . I've translated them".

Dumbledore turned away from Harry. His behavior filled Harry with a familiar sense of dread, and he couldn't help but suddenly feel irrationally angry towards the old man. Barely keeping his voice in control, Harry hissed, "What. Did. It. Say."

"There are two different ways to perceive what it meant," Dumbledore said, still looking away. He gestured towards the two time turners, "Notice in your time turner: it is a little more than halfway filled with sand whereas, the ministry turner is full. It is my belief that the sand in your turner had begun to disappear once you arrived here; as you said, when you apparated, the turner cracked. So, until the sand runs out, you will remain here."

"And once it runs out?"

Dumbledore closed his eyes. "Once it runs out, you return home . . . or cease to exist."

Harry swallowed. "How much time do I have?"

"I would assume," said Dumbledore, "The remainder of the year."

Harry trudged through the long hallways of Hogwarts back to his office. He wasn't sure how to feel. It would probably be best, he realized, to hope that the turner would simply return him home. Nonetheless, he felt almost dead inside, incapable to come to terms with the fact that he may never return home. Suddenly, meeting his parents and his ploys with the Marauders seemed completely trivial in comparison to his time predicament.

Harry felt immensely tired, his long day and the devastating news finally catching up with him. Then, much to his annoyance, he heard from some corridors to the left, several loud voices. There was no doubt in his mind whose voices they were. He turned the corner, finding the source of the voices: within the History of Magic classroom.

Not wanting to be caught up in whatever the Marauders were planning, Harry simply called tiredly, "Potter, Black. Please return to the Hospital Wing. Lupin, Pettigrew. Detention tomorrow night after dinner."

"I apologize, profess-" started Remus' voice. But he stopped when he reached the hallway; Harry had already disappeared around the corner.

A/N: Please review! Thanks!