Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books, Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros. Inc. Likewise, Prince of Persia The Sands of Time is copyrighted to Ubisoft Entertainment and Jordan Mechner. Copyright or trademark infringement is not intended.

Author's Notes: Thanks for the reviews, everyone, they really help. Sorry it took longer for this one to get posted, but I had to do a couple things this weekend. And this week, I might just have to start working, and I don't know how that'll interfere with the progress of the story, but it shouldn't be too bad. Anyways, here's the third chapter of Harry Potter and the Sands of Time. Enjoy!

Men talk of killing time, while time quietly kills them.

Dion Boucicault

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No flash of light this time. It was just an ordinary box now. Hermione sighed in relief and Harry reached his hand inside. He grasped something metallic and he withdrew it from the box. He gasped when he saw what it was. It was the same dagger he had seen in his visions.

"A dagger?" Hermione asked, obviously confused.

"It's the dagger I saw in my visions," Harry said. Hermione gave him an odd look.

"Visions?" she asked. Harry nodded.

"Yeah," he answered. "While I was knocked out, I had a series of visions." Harry then told Hermione all about the visions he had witnessed. When he was finished, she looked deep in thought.

Harry, meanwhile, was marveling at the dagger's magnificent craftsmanship. The whole dagger, including the blade and hilt, followed a graceful curve. The blade itself was made of some kind of hard steel, polished to a mirror shine and was sharper than a razor. Above and below the blade's sharp and blunt edge were two blue spikes that jutted out and attached to the hilt. The hilt was gold and held a glass container in the middle, which was almost filled completely with sand. Harry held the dagger in his hand, holding it up in the light. Hermione stopped rummaging inside the box. "Harry, look," she said, and lifted out a small scabbard for the dagger. Harry took the scabbard and sheathed the dagger. More on impulse than anything, Harry wrapped the sling around his waist and tied it so that the dagger was resting on his left hip. Hermione quirked an eyebrow.

"What?" Harry asked innocently. Hermione shook her head, a small smile forming on her face. Harry grinned and went back to looking in the chest for anymore artifacts. Meanwhile, Hermione was staring at Harry with an appraising look. He seemed to have grown a bit during the summer, both in height and in stature. His green eyes were still their vibrant emerald green, and yet, they seemed to have been set a light with a vivid fire. Hermione also found Harry's somewhat unshaven appearance to be intriging and, dare she say, attractive. Blushing slightly, Hermione shook her head, as if to get rid of such thoughts. Harry popped up suddenly, a triumphant look on his face.

"What is it?" Hermione asked. Harry held up a small, rolled up scroll in his hand.

"It's a scroll of some sort," he answered, turning it over in his hand. "Hopefully, it'll have some information about this dagger." Harry patted the dagger at his side. "Is Dumbledore here?" he asked. Hermione nodded. "Good, I need to inform him of some things."

"I think you should tell him about that dagger," Hermione stated, the slightly bossy tone surfacing in her voice. Harry laughed.

"Of course I will, Hermione," Harry said, a smile still on his face. "It'd be kind of hard to notice it anyways, right?" he suggested, gesturing to it on his hip. Hermione blushed as she had overlooked the obvious. What is it with Harry making me blush all of a sudden? a small voice asked in her head. Instead of answering herself, she shook her head slightly. She'd think about it later.

Harry decided to talk with Dumbeldore and invited Hermione along with him. She accepted, of course, very interested about what their professor would have to say about Harry's new dagger. The teens made their way down the stairs and into the dinning room, where Remus and Dumbledore sat, discussing something quietly. They both looked up as Harry and Hermione entered. Remus quickly stood and strode over to Harry.

"Harry, I'm glad to see you're awake finally," Remus said, clapping Harry on the shoulder. "You gave me quite a scare when you were knocked out." Harry grinned at his old professor and friend.

"Sorry about that Remus," Harry said. "But I'm fine now. In fact, I feel great." Remus nodded and sat back down. Harry looked to the headmaster. "Hello, Professor. It's nice to see you." Dumbledore smiled, the old familiar twinkle in his eyes.

"It's good to see you too, Harry, and to see that you're feeling quite well," Dumbledore said, offering Harry to sit across from him at the table. Harry thanked him and sat down, followed by Hermione. "I presume you have come here to discuss recent events with me?" Dumbeldore said, more of a statement than a question. Harry nodded, lay the scroll on the table, and unsheathed the dagger, setting it beside the scroll. Then, he looked as if he just realized something, and dug in his pocket. He pulled out the medallion, still wrapped in the blue cloth. He uncovered it and set it beside the scroll.

"I found these in a chest that was in Sirius's vault," Harry began and recounted his whole time in the vault to the professor. After he was finished, no one said anything for a long while. Harry, unsure of what to do, timidly asked Dumbledore, "So, what do you think, Professor?" Dumbledore didn't say anything for a moment, but stared at the contents which had lay before him.

"I think that there must be a reason you stumbled upon these items," the wizened headmaster began. "You said that you felt drawn to them. Perhaps you were meant to find these." Harry nodded. He felt especially close to the dagger but couldn't explain why. "I can sense dark magic surrounding the dagger," Dumbledore said, rousing Harry from his thoughts, "but I do not believe that the dagger itself is an evil device."

"Professor," Hermione said, speaking for the first time," perhaps Harry and I could go over the scroll and find out if it gives any information about the dagger or medallion." Dumbledore smiled and nodded.

"That sounds like an excellent idea, Miss Granger," he answered and Hermione smiled. "Better to know what these items are all about." Dumbledore turned to Harry. "I believe that Mr. Weasely should be arriving soon--" No more than he spoke those words and the dinning room door burst open, revealing a red-headed teenage boy walking in by the name of Ronald Weasely.

"Harry, Hermione!" he said, the happiness to see his two best friends apparent in his voice. Then, remembering not to be rude, greeted the two grown men in the room. "Er, Professor Dumbledore, Remus." The two nodded their heads in greeting, smiles on their faces. Dumbledore stood and Remus followed suit.

"Well, Remus and myself must be getting along now," Dumbeldore announced. He turned to direct his words to Hermione. "The wards over this estate blocks the Ministry's magical detectors, so you will be able to use translation spells on the scroll, as I assume you will need to do." The twinkle, ever present in his eyes, brightened. "I hope that you three do not abuse this privilege." He smiled and exited the room, along with Remus. The three teens sat silently for a few moments. Ron grinned and slapped Harry on the back.

"So what have you been up to, mate?"

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After spending the good part of an hour explaining to Ron what had happened that day, he was excited to help Harry and Hermione examine the scroll, which somewhat surprised them. Ron looked scandalous.

"What?" he asked. "Surprised that I actually want to read something for once?" Ron huffed and looked away. Harry grinned and Ron couldn't hold up the facade for long, and broke down into a grin himself. "Plus, that dagger looks pretty wicked, too." he finally admitted. Hermione rolled her eyes while Harry and Ron just laughed.

"Come on you two, we might as well get started translating the scroll," Hermione instructed, leading her two best friends out of the dinning room. Harry quickly put the medallion in his pocket, tied the dagger to his waist and grabbed the scroll and followed his friends into the large study on the second floor.

Setting up at a table with four chairs, the trio sat, Harry and Hermione sitting on one side while Ron sitting on the other. "Alright, let me see the scroll," Hermione said, holding out her hand. Harry took out the scroll but didn't hand it to her.

"Shouldn't we do a detecting spell on it first?" he asked. "To make sure it doesn't have any curses or jinxes on it?" Hermione huffed and rolled her eyes.

"Honestly Harry, do you think I was going to open it without taking some precautions first?" Hermione scolded him. Sheepishly, Harry handed her the scroll. She took it, laid it on the table, and withdrew her wand.

"Dirus Acclaro," Hermione spoke. The scroll lay silent. "Malus Caecus," she spoke again, and again nothing happened. After several more spells, Hermione nodded her head at Harry. "It's okay, there's not a spell protecting it." harry nodded and reached for the scroll, opening it. Sighing in relief that nothing bizarre happened to him, harry lay the unrolled scroll on the table. The scroll was covered with alien characters that none of them could decipher. Of course, Hermione had an idea what language it could be.

"It looks like some kind of Middle-Eastern language, maybe Arabic or Aramaic," she explained."Converto Lingua," Hermione said. A white glow escaped her wand and covered the scroll. After a few moments, the strange letters began to twist and contort, until the were translated into English.

Wow, Hermione," Ron said, staring at the scroll with wide eyes.

"Great job, Hermione," Harry said, also gazing at the scroll. Hermione smiled at their praise.

"It should be easy enough now to read," she said and pulled the scroll towards her. Harry leaned closer to her so he could also begin to read the scroll. Hermione's cheeks lightly flushed. After a few moments, she completely forgot about it and was absorbed by the writing, as was Harry. Ron, on the other hand, didn't see the point in trying to squeezing in trying to read the scroll, so he absent-mindedly flipped through a Quidditch magazine that had been laying on the table while the other two read.

After a long while, Harry and Hermione finally stopped reading the scroll for a few minutes. The scroll first told the legend of a prince of Persia who traveled with his father, Shahraman, a mighty king of Persia, to the kingdom of Azad. On their journey, the king and his men passed through India and besieged the Maharajah's palace with the help of the Maharajah's vizer who betrayed his king. There, the prince found a dagger which he kept for his spoils of war. A giant hourglass, filled with sand, was also taken by Shahraman's men to the kingdom of Azad as a gift to the king. While in the palace of Azad, the vizier tricked the prince into unleashing the sands within, called the Sands of Time. Everyone in the palace touched by the Sands was turned into a mockery of their original form. They were incapable of speech or feeling, and driving by the instinct to hunt down and kill anything that lived. They could not be killed, but they could be destroyed, by using the dagger the prince had, the Dagger of Time. The only people that were not infected by the sands were the prince because he possessed the dagger, the vizier because of his magical staff and his sorcerer powers, and the captured princess of the maharajah, who wore a magical medallion.

The prince, along with the aid of the princess, sought to restore the sands back into the hourglass, and return everything back to as it was before they were released. They battled their way through the palace, fighting sand creatures and the palace's own defenses, until they reached the Tower of Dawn, where the vizier was holding the hourglass. The princess, while battling sand creatures, fell to her death in the Tower of Dawn. The prince, mad with grief at her death, for he had come to love her, leaped atop the Hourglass an drove the dagger into it. The sands gathered inside the hourglass and everything rewound. The prince found himself as he was before his father's army attacked the Maharajah's palace, the dagger in his hand. In the cover of darkness, the prince sneaked into the princesses' quarters and told her the story which he had lived. At dawn when he was finished, the vizier found him and tried to kill him. The prince and vizier fought and the prince overcame him. The prince gave the princess the dagger and returned to his father's encampment. With the vizier's death, Shahraman did not attack the Maharajah's palace and the prince avoided unleashing the Sands of Time again.

Here, the document stopped suddenly, as if there was more to the story, but it had been cut off or erased. Harry and Hermione looked at each other, realizing just how powerful the dagger really was. Ron looked up from his magazine and asked, "So, what does it say?"

XXXX

Later, after telling Ron the story that the scroll told, Ron stared at the dagger for a long time.

"It must be really powerful," he commented. Harry nodded. Hermione looked a bit skeptical.

"If it even is the real Dagger of Time," she said. Harry and Ron looked at her incrediously.

"You mean to tell me that you don't believe what you just read?" Harry asked, his eyes wide in disbelief. Hermine shook her head.

"It's not that at, even if the story seems a bit far-fetched," she began. 'It's the fact that we don't know if this is the dagger the was mentioned in the legend." Harry rubbed his forehead.

"Well, there's no real way to know, is there?" he said, looking a little deflated. Hermione studied the scroll for a moment before pulling it closer.

"Harry, take a look here!" she exclaimed, excitement in her voice. Harry looked to where she was pointing. It was a small passage they had over looked while they had been reading. "This here explains how to use the powers of the dagger!" Harry's eyes widened and grabbed the scroll and began reading.

Whoever holds the Dagger of Time gains the power to bend and control the fabric of Time itself, using the Sands within. He who posses the dagger has the awesome might of Time on his side.

The Power of Revival: The Dagger allows he who posses it to undo his mistakes -- even his own death -- by traveling back in time up to ten seconds.

The Power of Delay: The Dagger allows the holder to slow down time for everyone around him, giving him the slight but important edge in combat.

The Power of Restraint: The Dagger stops time for one enemy, allowing the user to dispatch the enemy with impunity.

The Power of Haste: The Dagger accelerates the passing of time, allowing the user to defeat multiple enemies at the blink of an eye.

The Power of Destiny: The Dagger allows he who posses it to behold visions of the future.

Harry slowly looked up after he finished reading the scroll. Hermione looked anxiously at him.

"Well, what does it say?" she asked. Harry grinned and handed it to her. She immediately began scanning the scroll. She looked up at Harry when she finished, a look of glee on her face. "Harry, do you know what this means?" she asked, obviously excited.

"Er, what?"

"This just might help you defeat Voldemort!" she exclaimed, almost bouncing in her chair. Harry nodded.

"Yeah I guess so, "he said, looking at the dagger strapped to his waist.

"Well?" Hermione said. Harry blinked.

"Well what?" Harry asked. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Aren't you going to try it out?" she said. Harry looked from her to the dagger.

"You really think I should?" he asked, unsure about testing the dagger.

"Well, maybe we should ask Professor Dumbledore before you try it..." she said, now looking a bit apprehensive. Harry grinned slightly.

"Just a second ago you were all for trying it," Harry said. Hermione bit her bottom lip.

"I know, but now that I think about, I think you should wait," she said. Harry's grin expanded and he unsheathed the dagger. Hermione's eyes widened. "Harry..."

"Come on, Hermione," Ron finally spoke up. "Let Harry have a go with the dagger."

"Yeah, Hermione," Harry said, now holding the dagger up. "I don't think anything bad will happen." Hermione crossed her hands in front of her chest.

"And exactly who do you know that?" she asked. Harry shrugged.

"No idea," he replied. With that, Harry touched a little switch that was on the hilt of the dagger. Time stopped and nothing moved. Then, everything seemed to bend, straighten, and began rewinding. Harry felt himself going back and watched in wonder as he say Hermione uncross her arms and begin speaking backwards. After ten seconds, Time stopped, bended, and returned to normal again.

"Well?" Hermione said. Harry blinked.

"Well what?" Harry asked. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Aren't you going to try it out?" she said. Harry gaped at her. Had he really just heard her correctly? Hadn't she just said that a few seconds ago?

"You really think I should?" Harry asked, deciding to play along.

"Well, maybe we should ask Professor Dumbledore before you try it..." she said. Harry grinned.

"You're right, Hermione," Harry announced. "We should wait and consult Dumbeldore." Hermione sighed in relief. Harry grinned in delight. It had really worked! Harry couldn't believe that he now possessed such a powerful tool.

"Ah, I really wanted to see Harry try it out," Ron complained, resting his head on the table. Harry slyly winked at him. Ron blinked and then grinned.

"Right, well, it's getting late," Harry said and began to gather up the scroll and medallion. "We'll talk to Dumbledore again tomorrow and see what he thinks about it, Hermione." Hermione nodded in agreement. The trio walked out of the study and into their respective bedrooms. Harry and Ron bade Hermione good-night and went into the room they had shared last summer.

Getting into his bed clothes, Harry asked, "So is the rest of your family here?" Ron nodded.

"Mum, Dad, and Ginny and me," Ron answered, fluffing his pillow. "Fred and George are living in the flat above their shop and Percy is still living in London. Oh, did I tell you?" Ron asked. Harry shook his head. "Bill and Fleur are getting married next summer." Harry blinked and grinned.

"That's great," he said, happy for both Bill and Fleur.

"Yeah, Bill and Fleur should be stopping by headquarters sometime in the next couple days," Ron told him, resting his head on his pillow. "And before we go to sleep, what was that wink for earlier?" Ron asked. Harry grinned.

"Well, I used the dagger," he said. Ron sat up.

"How?" he asked. "I didn't see you use it."

"I know," Harry said. "I used it to rewind the past and changed it so I didn't use it. It's weird, I know, but trust me, it works." Harry lay on his bed and turned out the lights. "Good night, Ron."

"Good night, mate."

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Author's Notes: Well, I hope some questions are answered. I know Harry didn't get to do much with the powers of the Dagger, but all in good time, haha. This chapter was a little longer than the rest, over 3000 words. I'm making good progress, I think. Alright,t he next update should be in two days or so. Reviews are appreciated! Thanks, and have a great day.

Next Chapter: Harry talks with Dumbeldore, Hermione comes to terms with some issues, and a trip to Diagon Alley, maybe? (I think the romance will start to pick up a little bit next chapter, even if a few hearts may be broken. Eh, I don't now if I'm that good with both adventure and romance at the same time. But I'll try!)