Disclaimer: This story is provided by the author 'as is' and does not contain or represent any expressed or implied ownership of any fictional characters and/or creatures created by J.K.Rowling.
Harry walked up the main staircase, wondering what the headmaster was talking about. Did Viktor Krum have anything to do with the recent – well, not-so-recent – events? Harry absently found his way inside the library and found himself in the section regarding Time Turners, which was only a single bookshelf. Sighing, Harry pulled out the first book, Passing the Past: Time Turners, and sat down at a table in the corner.
"Who's that?" came a quiet voice from the other side of the room.
"I don't know. I haven't seen him before," replied her friend.
Harry tried to ignore their talking, but the library was absolutely silent besides them and their conversation cut through his attention.
"Is that… is that a scar on his forehead?" the first girl asked.
"I know who that is!" the second called a bit too loudly, which earned a nasty glare from Madame Pince. She meekly bowed her head, but whispered something to her friend. Harry looked up and saw that the blond haired girl in Hufflepuff robes was whispering to her friend, a brown haired Hufflepuff. The brunette's eyes widened slightly, and the two hurriedly left the library.
Harry was a little bit worried, but he engrossed himself back in Passing the Past.
Table of Contents
Introduction…
The Basics…
Time Paradoxes…
Tracking Time Turners…
Historical Significance…
Appendices…
Index…
Harry quickly flipped to Tracking Time Turners on page 47, but quickly grew disappointed. It didn't give any information on tracing time travels, but merely how to track down the turner's physical location. He supposed it was useful if someone traveled back in time with a turner and you needed to find out where the artifact ended up, but it certainly didn't help him out any.
Harry put the book back on the shelf, and pulled out two more – Shawn Smith and the Time Traveler from Sandy Shore and Hyperbolic Temporal Mechanics for Squibs. Unfortunately, the first book turned out to be some sort of creative nonfiction, and most was devoted to eloquent adjectives that described the scenery; Harry couldn't tell whether anything actually happened, or whether the whole story was just some very long description of what Sandy Shore looked like. The second was even worse. Half was written for a complete moron; the other half was too incomprehensible to even understand. Fifteen minutes later, all Harry had learned was that Sandy Shore had glistening sunsets that would make doves cry, and that time was arranged in a non-linear, 5th dimensional orthogonal matrices – whatever that meant.
However, as Harry was about to put the two books away, he noticed several students looking at him from another table. Harry looked to the right – another table was looking at him over their books. And another. He suddenly noticed that the library appeared to have filled up, and he was the center of attention. Harry looked down at his watch – it was 11:25. Time for an early lunch Harry ruefully decided, and quickly left the library.
Over the next several days, he was beginning to see what McGonagall was talking about with Krum. Every time he entered the library, 15 minutes later girls would be sitting at tables within eyesight, giggling away. He tried moving to separate rooms, but they would gradually trickle in as well. Harry considered duplicating his invisibility trick and vanishing from sight, but knew that if he tried it, he'd get an earful of McGonagall – 17 or 37 years old didn't matter – for breaking the no-magic rule in the corridors and library.
At 4:38, Harry decided to give up for the day, and traveled back down the path to Hogsmeade.
As soon as he flooed through the Hogsmeade public fireplace, he heard Ginny tease from the kitchen, "How was reading today?" Ever since he had been spending his days browsing the Hogwarts library, she had poked fun at him, even 'accidentally' calling him Hermione a few times.
"Not good," Harry sighed, "A lot of the students try to hang around the library like when Viktor Krum came for the Triwizard Tournament."
"A lot of students?" Ginny asked coyly, "I don't suppose you mean the female half of Hogwarts…"
"I'm glad you're enjoying this," Harry said, exasperated.
"What did you expect?" Ginny chortled. "You're famous. And it doesn't hurt that you're good-looking."
"Famous," Harry slowly said, a smile creeping into his face. "Good looking and famous…"
Ginny sternly said, "Don't tell me I've gone and given you an ego."
"Not an ego," Harry grinned, "But an idea…"
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What? I didn't get any conspiracy theories. Hmmm… I'm going to start a contest.
It's the 'Who opened the sphere?' contest. The winner… well, I don't really have anything for the winner. Still, let's see some guesses!
Lakergurl13: Well, I guess this chapter answered the Viktor question. It might create a conflict if Voldemort saw himself open the sphere. On the other hand, it might provide him with a cue of what he needs to do (build up his power to open the sphere). I can't tell you whether or not he does, though.
Kaelli: Whoa, calm down about Viktor. He's not going to kill Harry off in a grisly fashion involving bubotuber puss and a rabid Hippogrif. Hmmm…
Beefywpac: Thanks!
Feel free to review