SHATTERED TIME
(Version 2: OotP updated!)

SUMMARY: My first fan fiction! A desperate attempt to write a Time Turner story while avoiding all the usual clichés and plots. Hermione travels back in time and falls in love with...James Potter? Yikes. Will she give into her feelings? It would ruin any chance of James and Lily getting married- and therefore Harry being born and Lord Voldemort being defeated. The future is in Hermione's hands. Will she sacrifice true love for the greater good? Or will she selfishly cling to the man she loves, possibly destroying the future world itself! Lots of twists and turns, unrequited love, fake relationships, Machiavellian Slytherins, good vs. evil, deep friendships, obsessive lovers, the occasional snog, and all that good stuff.

DISCLAIMER: I did not create any of the characters, settings, items, etc. in the following story. I am in no way associated to JK Rowling, Scholastic Books, Warner Brothers, whatever that British publishing company is called, or anything else Harry Potter related. I am not making any profit off this story; I am just a silly fan with an overactive imagination. This disclaimer will apply for the whole story.

Chapter One: A Rash Decision

Hermione Granger looked up from the gigantic tome of a book she was reading when she felt the breeze of a flying broom blow her already disheveled hair in the wind. She briefly caught Harry's smile before he zoomed back to his other teammates. An identical smile filled her own face as her eyes followed him returning to Quidditch practice. Her heart automatically skipped a beat.

Harry Potter: The Boy Who Lived, one third of Gryffindor's Dream Team, Hermione's best friend...and her secret love. She sighed, watching his carefree demeanor as he whizzed around his teammates. He was completely oblivious to her feelings; rarely aware that she was female, at that. To him, she was just another pal, no different than Ron or Seamus.

Watching Harry stop momentarily and scan the sky for the snitch, Hermione sighed heavily. The only girl he had ever shown any interest in was Cho Chang. At the thought of the Ravenclaw seeker, Hermione filled with jealousy and rage. That little tart! She had played with Harry's feelings and brushed him aside, moving right on to the next guy. Hermione didn't know all that went on between Harry and Cho the previous year, but she did know that he was extremely heartbroken. Cho was another hurt to add to his already overbearing burden, and Hermione hated her for doing that to him.

Not being able to focus on Harry anymore, Hermione tore her eyes away from him and looked from Ginny and the other Chasers...to the Beaters...to the red-headed Keeper who was darting around the goal posts, daring anyone to try and get a quaffle past him.

Ron...here was another reason things would never work between Harry and Hermione. Ron's fancy for her was no secret, even though he'd never attest to it. Whispers filled the halls about his crush, but Ron turned beet red and denied everything if confronted about it. Hermione had asked Ginny, who confirmed that Ron was head over heels in love with her. This was further complicating, because Hermione could never think of him as more than a friend. While everyone else saw Hermione and Ron's constant bickering as pent-up love (if only she had a knut for every time someone commented that they fought like a married couple...), Hermione saw it as just plain irritating. All the same, Ron was a good friend, and if she were to ever show open interest in another student—especially Harry—he'd be heartbroken.

With a sigh, she turned back to her book. Hermione had always loved school: learning, studying, and everything else that went along with it. But this year was getting to be a bit overwhelming. Three years ago, Professor McGonagall had loaned her a Time Turner so she could take on a greater workload. After much stress, she had returned the tool at the end of the year. This year, however, she had requested permission to use it again. The previous year during career advice with McGonagall, Hermione hadn't been able to decide on one path—everything looked interesting. And after earning an Outstanding on every singe O.W.L. (including Astronomy...she still wasn't sure how she pulled that one off!), she decided that eliminating any class would narrow her options, potentially ruining her future, and had begged until McGonagall finally obliged. Now she was taking twice as many classes as anyone else in sixth year—all N.E.W.T. level. It was stressful, yet invigorating.

Currently, Hermione was researching an antidote to an almost-forgotten concoction that Neville had unintentionally brewed during Potions earlier that day. Trevor, his toad, had grown four times his typical size, all while developing fangs and a really nasty attitude. Trevor was currently under the care of Hagrid (much to his delight) until a counter-potion was found...and since the Potions Master found the whole situation extremely entertaining; the task was up to Hermione. She steamed at the memory of Snape's amusement at the whole ordeal. Hermione strived to honor and respect all the professors, but it was especially difficult with him. Finding nothing in the book, and sick of being distracted by flashes of green from Harry's eyes, she abruptly stood and announced that she was going to the library. The other observers in the stands muttered goodbyes without taking their eyes off the field, and Hermione quickly exited.

She hurried off to the castle, trying to shove thoughts of unrequited love, endless hours of classes, and slimy teachers out of her mind. Instead of going to the library, she headed straight to her room, pulling the curtains around her bed and burying her face into the pillow, fighting off the threatening tears. It was enough that she was overwhelmed with classes and having troubles with Snape, but this whole Harry situation was about to push her over the edge. Struggling to regain her composure, she told herself to get a grip. She was Hermione Granger—top of the Hogwarts sixth year class, cool, composed, and smart. She would not cry over some silly crush. She gathered the sheets in her hands and squeezed as hard as she could, trying to relieve some of the pressure. Lying flat on her stomach amongst the blankets, Hermione felt something against her sternum. Her hand went down to her chest, finding the Time Turner pressing into her skin.

Sniffing and wiping her eyes, she sat Indian-style on the bed and examined the necklace. It was so pretty- made of gold and glass, filled with beautiful white sand. She ran her fingers down the chain, toward the glass, but stopped upon feeling a small bump on the top upper edge. Intrigued, she raised the trinket to her eyes, seeing a small dial protruding from the gold that was hardly visible. Hermione squinted her eyes, trying to make out the notches carved into the gold around the dial. They were odd runes that she couldn't interpret, and the knob was currently pointed to a strange ancient triangular figure. Her curiosity now thoroughly peaked; she carefully turned the dial to a different rune.

Abruptly, Hermione shook her head. What was she doing? Messing with time was dangerous enough; she did not want to complicate matters by exploring the unknown. She could change the flow of events, cause some things to happen that shouldn't, prevent other things from happening that should, and get in big trouble with the Ministry. She started to turn the dial back to its original position, but a thought entered her mind.

What harm would it really do? She could just give it a turn or two, see where it took her, then do the incantation to change the turner from past to future and end up right back at Hogwarts. Why shouldn't she? Sure, Hermione broke rules from time to time, but they were always under the influence of Harry and Ron. For once she was going to do something by herself, under only her own influence: her own decision, only for her.

With new resolve, Hermione jumped to her feet and put the necklace back around her neck. Closing her eyes tight, she grabbed the hourglass and gave it two swift turns.