Author's Note:
Round 7 - Write about a magical invention that doesn't work as expected
Title: Babystein 2.0
Team: Catapults
Position: Seeker
Beta's: Cupcakeyyy, S.L.Blake
Summary: Time turner fic that starts half a century after the founders built Hogwarts. Thaddeus Griffins (OC) creates the first typical time turner; how could it possibly go wrong?
It was an ordinary day for Thaddeus. He had been working tirelessly on a new magical invention that could change history forever, quite literally, for a couple of years now. Sitting there, pieces of parchment set out in front of him and his ink and quill ready for note-taking, he sighed. The task was simple, he needed to get it completely right before showing his invention to anyone. So when one day one of his friends had gotten excited on his behalf that he had just about cracked it, he thought it couldn't get any worse. Oh, was he wrong.
He could still hear his friend's enthusiastic voice exclaim, "I can't believe it! You're a bloody genius, Teddy! You did it!"
He ran a hand through his dark blond, messy, short hair. His green eyes narrowed in concentration at the jewelry in his hands, a golden ring he was making for a villager, while trying to think of the many possibilities that could go wrong. Thaddeus had to decide on the rules, what happened if someone actually was taken backwards in time. It wasn't an easy feat, considering he had never done it himself. However, he had thought of everything, he had been very precise when coming up with the idea, a few years ago. But the friend who had gotten excited, well, she just had to tell the founders of Hogwarts about it.
Of course.
Because who else would she tell?
He shook his head, glancing at the letter sitting next to his blank piece of parchment. It read that the founders wanted to meet with him, and his finished product, by the next full moon. The founders wanted to meet him. He still hadn't processed it properly, and the invention was almost complete. How was he going to act? He wasn't anyone important. He was just trying to survive, make a living while trying not to be found by the witch hunters. It was a dangerous life he led, but one that meant that he couldn't just stand idly by and do nothing.
Thaddeus picked up the delicate box that held the invention, taking a break from making the ring. It was a wooden box with carved leaves and flowers that he had made himself, along with the golden chain that lay inside the carved box.
He picked the necklace up and studied it through his half-moon glasses. He might only be in his mid-twenties, but his eyesight was just awful. He bit his bottom lip and squinted at the hourglass inside the metal circle engraved with runes carrying magic. It had all been very delicate to put together. It had taken many hours to make his creation. Luckily, he got by by being the local blacksmith. No one ever really questioned what he was doing. And that was just the way Thaddeus liked it.
However, as he looked at the necklace, he frowned deeply. There were many things that could go wrong. He knew that, because he often pondered the things that could happen. It was every passing thought that washed through his mind, at all times, always. If someone turned it one too many times, well, good luck. What he needed was a test subject.
Putting the necklace back in its box, he closed the lid and placed it back where it belonged—on the shelf. He then returned to where he was sitting to pick up his quill and began to write.
Thaddeus had no idea how long he had been writing for, but he knew it wasn't dark outside when he had started. His slightly chubby stomach grumbled and he reluctantly put his quill down. Another day—gone. Another day closer to the finished invention. He could do this. He had to. Otherwise, what was the point of all this?
The next few days were the same, until one sunny day, when there was a loud noise and a scream before a shout of, "Yes!" from the blacksmith's cabin.
"I've done it," he whispered with a smile and a look of disbelief, ignoring the sweat dripping from his forehead. Had he really done it? After all these years? Well, there was only one way to find out. He had a deadline—the founders had requested this. He wasn't going to sit around and recalculate everything for a third time. He couldn't wait to do the testing properly, this had already taken too much of his precious time. Also—where was the fun in waiting even longer? He wanted, no, needed to know whether it worked.
Thaddeus held the necklace, his hands shaking with excitement. He would get this to work if it was the last thing he ever did. So, taking a deep breath to calm down his excitedly beating heart, he put the necklace over his neck and held the hourglass in the palm of his hand. He looked around his little cabin with a satisfied smile. Even if this didn't work, well, it was worth the time he had spent on it. Not many could say they had invented a Time-Turner that worked.
He twisted the hourglass seven times with eager anticipation, and watched as the room started to spin swiftly around him, seeming to get bigger and bigger as the time went by.
Bigger and bigger. It kept going bigger. This wasn't right. Had he missed a step—
Suddenly, the movement stopped. Thaddeus thumped heavily onto the ground, and wailed. He wailed loudly, tears rolling down his face and he clenched his now tiny hands into fists, hitting the floor in a strop. His cheeks red from the crying, he didn't need to be an expert to figure out what had gone wrong.
He was now a baby.
How was he going to get out of this one?
•••
Salazar Slytherin walked into the village with purpose in his stride. Godric had felt a powerful change in the magical ley lines around this area of Britain and while Salazar loved the castle, he had to get out of there every once in a while. Hence why he had volunteered to go find this anomaly. Godric had offered to come with him, but he needed this time by himself. Exploring, getting lost in his thoughts about Hogwarts, the choices he made to get there… it was all, well. Putting it simply, something had to change.
The village was similar to where he grew up, out in the country, with the inns and the farming. The smell reminded him of a previous life. Well, it would have. If it weren't for that awful screaming. Seriously, if someone didn't shut that baby up, he'd do it himself. By any means necessary.
Don't be mean, Sal.
Salazar rolled his eyes and shook his head as he followed the wailing, feeling a pull to go there. Godric always had to be in the back of his mind and that was partly why he needed a break. Godric was clouding his thoughts, his destination. He was everywhere, almost overbearing, like his own mother. One would think, with him being as powerful and buff—for lack of a better word—he'd behave accordingly, but no. Godric was an annoying mother hen.
The man was practically everywhere, but that wasn't always a good thing. Even if he just meant well. Salazar needed his space to think and act. And that included the castle and its grounds. No matter what the friendship meant to him, he didn't accept his friend's actions.
After a few minutes of walking, he reached a cabin, with the sign of a blacksmith's hanging above the building's entrance. He had received strange looks from the villagers, clearly judging him as he passed. Probably because of his attire, but he didn't care about them. They were Muggles, not worth his time.
Opening the door, he spotted a familiar girl holding a particularly ugly baby, singing quietly to it as she tried to calm the child. Salazar raised his eyebrows as a conversation popped up in his head, something that the heads of the school houses had been talking about a few weeks ago.
"A magical invention, you say?" Helga asked curiously.
A lady with curly brown hair nodded with a grin on her face. "Yes, a Time-Turner, he called it. He is close to finishing it, too. I believe it will work!"
"He shouldn't be taking years to finish it," Salazar spoke coldly, "If it's close to being finished, he has until the next full moon to show it to us."
He folded his arms across his chest, amusement in his eyes as he connected the dots. "It didn't work then?" he questioned the girl with his lips turned upwards, the closest he ever got to a smile.
"No, and it's your fault he's like this! Thaddeus only rushed because of your stupid time limit. He spent years working on this, only for you to ruin it!"
Salazar raised his eyebrows, very slightly impressed with the girl, who had the nerve to call him stupid. "Whose idea was it to tell us about the invention in the first place?" he drawled out and she blushed lightly, with anger still in her eyes.
"I want you to fix him," she demanded bravely, or stupidly.
"What if it can't be fixed?" His eyes blazed, amused, as the girl's eyes grew bigger. "Who are you to him? Are you willing to care for him while he grows up again?" Salazar asked, with a smirk on his face. Of course, he could return Thaddeus back to his adult self with no trouble, but he enjoyed messing with people, he enjoyed seeing the fear in their eyes, revelling in it. That was what set him apart from Godric, Helga and Rowena. That was why he was always going to be different.
"I'm Rosemary Evans and I'm his f-friend, of course I'd do that." Salazar spotted the stutter and he smiled with his eyes. Young love, he thought. He might as well put her out of her misery. He was becoming increasingly bored now.
"Well then, Miss Evans, let's return Mr Griffins back to his usual self," he said and ignoring her sigh of relief, he got his wand out and muttered a spell. Light shone around Thaddeus, and Salazar inwardly sighed. He didn't get paid enough for this.
After a few moments, Thaddeus was back to his normal self, still in the girl's arms, with a look of shock on his face as he realised who was standing before him.
"There, now. What have you learnt, Mr Griffins?" Salazar asked, as if he was talking to one of his students, in a patronising voice.
Salazar watched as Thaddeus glanced from him to Rosemary and back to him again before speaking, "Don't rush, think before acting?" He had a hopeful look in his eyes. Salazar shook his head, withholding a smile.
"You have learnt that you would be nowhere without your friend here," Salazar drawled out, motioning with a hand to Rosemary. "Once, and only once, you have finished with your invention, completed a trial run and tested it on multiple people. Then you can come to Hogwarts to show us your Time-Turner," he spoke and, without waiting on another word, nodded to them both. "I'll leave you to it. I think I'll try out the Sun's Inn. Good day."
•••
Thaddeus hadn't moved from Rosemary's arms. He was still shocked by the events that had happened within the last few hours. But the fact that Mr Slytherin had seen him as a baby… well. That topped it all off, really. He glanced at his friend with a new look in his eyes, appreciation, as he remembered what she had said to the Salazar Slytherin.
"You realise you basically called Salazar Slytherin stupid, right?" Thaddeus said, his voice sounding tired, worn out from all the screaming he had done while being a baby. He spotted the shade of pink that covered her cheeks as she let go of him, making him fall to the ground with a thump. Thaddeus had a strange sense of déjà vu and suddenly panicked, checking his arms and legs were still the right size.
"Yes, I am well aware of that, Ted. Are you done being an idiot?"
Thaddeus stood up straight away and mock-glared at her, folding his arms across his chest.
"No, I'm not. What are you going to do about it?" he challenged and immediately regretted it as she started to move towards him, until she was inches away from him,. Thaddeus could feel her breath on his lips as she stared into his eyes.
"This," she whispered and Thaddeus' breath hitched as he felt her lips on his.
It didn't matter that the Time-Turner had failed… It didn't matter that he had turned into a baby. He was kissing Rosemary. As she wrapped her arms around his neck, he smiled into the kiss. He should have guessed sooner, in the way she had held him as a baby; it had been so caring. So loving. The singing… the stutter when she had called him a friend.
He felt like this was meant to be.
And he was glad he had failed.