Disclaimer: You know the drill; I own Karmina and little else. If you don't recognize a character, it's probably mine and the rest belong to JK Rowling. The poem at the beginning belongs to Richard Hovey. R&R! By the way, I made a small error in one of the previous chapters. The time turner Karmina has includes years, months and days.

"Hail!
Ye monstrous Glooms!
Formless Forms!
Known and Unknown!
To what avail
Through strifes and storms,
Athwart the Sea that bellows and booms
In the ear
With the threatening of dire dooms,
Strove I once alone."

-By Richard Hovey from "The Quest of Merlin"

After her realization, Karmina found she couldn't sleep. Every time she tried, she would wake with a tightening in her chest that left her breathless. The task loomed in front of her, growing bigger and bigger as the hours went on till she could barely stand it. She looked over at the clock on her bedside table, reading 7:30 in glowing letters. She would do it that day, as soon as she knew for sure no one would burst in on her. The steps to her plan ran through her head in a loop. First, she needed to get Harry's Invisibility Cloak and somehow snag a wand. Though she didn't really know how to use it, she thought it would be incredibly stupid to go into the past unarmed. She would return to her room and put the time turner around her neck, rotating it four turns on the year setting then two on the month setting before turning it another 4 days. The event had taken place at night so she figured she would need to lie low for a few hours before finding Harry. Following her father would be entirely too difficult as his sense of smell would be able to detect her, despite the invisibility cloak.

Her soul goal was to make sure the rat didn't escape like he obviously had that night. She was confident that the werewolf blood in her would at least partially protect her from Remus. And, on the off chance that he did get to her, she wouldn't mind living out the rest of her days as a werewolf. She took a few deep breaths before getting out from the tangle of her sheets; she had worked herself into a nice mess on the bed. She heard the sounds of breakfast being prepared and headed toward the kitchen.

"Hello Dad," she greeted softly, not crossing the threshold. He looked over and smiled weakly. He had dark circles under his eyes and the gray in his hair seemed more prominent but he didn't look entirely upset.

"Good morning dearest. Did you sleep well?"

"Yes," she lied, walking in. In a rare show of daring, she crossed the distance between them and placed her arms hesitantly around his waist, drinking in the smell of him. Somehow, the knowledge that she was going to make everything all right made her feel more connected to him and certainly more deserving of his affection. He squeezed her shoulder in return.

"Why don't you go get Harry. Breakfast is nearly ready and he has to meet with some aurors today." Karmina nodded and trudged up to Harry's room. He seemed to have no problem sleeping, his snores echoing into the hallway. She stepped cautiously onto the carpeted floor, dodging the dirty laundry that was scattered about. She stood next to him for what felt like ten minutes, hoping her mere presence would rouse him. She quickly realized that his ability to sleep was due largely to the gigantic empty vile on his bedside table. Finally summing up the courage, she poked him in the arm, much more assertively than she had intended.

"What happened?" he asked, bolting up in his bed sheets.

"Sorry to startle you, but breakfast is almost ready and you have a meeting-"

"With some aurors yeah. I'll be out in a minute okay?" Karmina nodded and hurried to the door. "Wait! Wait! Karmina, were you speaking?" he asked, rushing to her side, only to discover he was without pajamas. He danced behind her, trying to keep the sheet around his waist. She turned to see his blushing face, a grin spread across her lips.

"Yeah, it came back last night."

"That's great!" Harry exclaimed, throwing his arms around her neck. The sheet fell and he withdrew his embrace like she had shocked him.

"I'll leave you to dressing yeah?"

"Right, yeah that would be good." Karmina left the room, trying to muffle her laughter with her fist. "I hear you laughing!"

"Sorry!" she called back, bolting out of the room and down the stairs.

"Why are you laughing?" Remus asked, setting three plates on the table.

"Me? Nothing, it's nothing. Harry should be down in a minute." Remus cocked his eyebrows skeptically but didn't say anymore until Harry came down the stairs, still blushing ruby red.

"'Morning Harry."

"Good Morning Moony." Remus noticed Harry was pointedly avoiding looking at Karmina.

"Did you hear Karmina got her voice back?"

"Yeah, that's great! Really, it was a huge surprise though."

"It was a shock for me too, a good surprise though. Are you nervous about your meeting?"

"With the Aurors?" Harry asked, rubbing the back of his neck. "Not really, I just have to tell them not to meddle with what I'm doing and that I'll need their assistance but I won't tell them a thing. No, of course I'm not nervous."

"Well when you put it that way. . ." Remus trailed off, a grin coming to his lips despite himself.

"I don't have much of an appetite," Harry said, pushing his plate away.

"You really should eat something."

"I don't think that's a very good idea Moony. I don't want to add insult to injury when I loose my breakfast on the aurors do I?"

"It won't be that bad; Tonks will be there."

"Really? I'll be sure to give her your regards." Harry raised his eyebrows suggestively, causing Remus' face to turn the color of a radish.

"You should probably get going yeah?"

"Yeah, I should." Harry agreed, looking at his wrist watch. He got up to leave, straightening his robes.

"Good Luck Harry," Remus said quickly before Harry apparated with a pop. "Well, I think the end of Harry's meeting and your voice coming back deserves a bit of a celebration. Would you like for me to floo the Weasleys, perhaps have them come over for supper?" Karmina nodded, trying to think how she was going to get enough time alone.

"Dad, you're exhausted. Why don't you go up to bed and I'll clean up down here. No really, it's the least I can do. We still have some dreamless sleep potion and I'll make sure to wake you when Harry returns." Remus looked hesitant but his fatigue quickly swept away any argument he could have. She was sixteen after all and quite capable of handling herself. "Come on, you'll feel much better."

"Alright, I guess I will. Make sure you do wake me when Harry comes back and if you need anything-"

"I'll wake you; I promise."

"Okay, oh, and Mina"

"Yes?"

"I was wondering if you could maybe tell me about where you've been for the past fifteen years." Karmina's back tensed and she felt the blood drain from her face but she forced herself to nod her head.

"Y-yeah," she stammered, turning to the sink and turning on the faucet, letting the warm water run over her fingers.

"I l-love you Mina."

"Love you too Dad." Karmina didn't trust herself to turn before she heard Remus' bedroom door close. Despite the warm water, Karmina felt cold, freezing actually. She tried her best to shake it, however, because she had a lot to do.

She finished the breakfast dishes, trying her best not to think about the last time she'd done dishes. Once everything was in its place, she tiptoed up the stairs passed Remus' room and into Harry's. She glanced at the neon alarm clock on his bedside table and breathed a small sigh of relief. Harry had said he wouldn't be back before noon and it was only 9:30. As quietly as she could, she opened the trunk at the foot of his bed. She nearly gagged when she found a pair of rank, fetid athletic socks sitting on top of a History of Magic text book. Flicking the socks out of the way, she rooted around, finally finding what she was looking forward at the very bottom.

She drew the silvery fabric from the trunk, savoring the feeling of it running through her fingers. She had read about invisibility cloaks of course but it was unreal to actually have one in her hands. Looking around furtively, she pulled the cloak around her shoulders and looked at the mirror over his chest of drawers. She nearly gasped, looking at her floating head. "Wow," she breathed, touching her arm to make sure it was still there. "Wow".

It took a little while to get over the shock but a look at clock spurred her into action. The only thing she had left to do was find a wand. Since wizards did not tend to leave these lying around and the only wizard she knew in the house was her father, she was left with only one course of action. She had heard from Harry that her father was an extremely light sleeper, and hoped the years of silence would come in handy.

As quietly as she could, she walked down the hall to her father's room. After making sure the invisibility cloak fully covered her, she tiptoed into the room. His wand sat on his bedside table next to a glass of water and an empty vile. She crept over to his bedside and picked up the wand with trembling fingers. God willing, she would have it back to him by the end of the day. Not being able to resist it, she leaned down and gave him a soft kiss on the temple. He stirred but did not wake and she hurried out the door.

She straightened Harry's room, making sure that nothing was left disturbed. She didn't need him to find out what had happened automatically. Her anticipation growing, she hurried to her room where the Time Turner lay under her bed, safely hidden from prying eyes.

She looked in the mirror beside her bureau and smiled. She had filled out slightly and the bruise on her face was finally fading. She pulled on a pair of too-big jeans that Mrs. Weasley had sent over along with a green, cotton jumper. She braided her long hair and tucked the wand in her pocket. Trying to find something useful, she looked around the room. Her eyes fell on the picture of her family, the one with her father and mother, holding her. She pocketed it as well and drew the time turner from underneath her bed. She threw the invisibility cloak over her shoulders and flicked the "year" switch, rotating it slowly four times. She then flipped it to "months" and went back two months and finally flicked it to "days" turning the hourglass back four.

The journey took much less time than she had anticipated and, before she knew it, she collided with the wood floor of her room. For a moment, she thought she had not gone anywhere, that the time turner had malfunctioned. The absence of her chest of drawers clued her in though. Truth-be-told, this part of her plan wasn't exactly fleshed out. She had planned how to get back in time and what to do once at Hogwarts but the transportation from Grimmauld Place to Hogwarts was the question.

She sat on the bed, not knowing quite what to do. "Well, at least I have a couple of hours," she murmured to herself. A crash from down the hall nearly made her jump out of her skin. She quickly put the invisibility cloak back on and, with trembling hands, opened the door and peaked out. A man with a long, white beard was brushing soot off his robes. He was walking out of the library followed closely by a tall, oily man with a hooked, crooked nose.

"Well, the mood of the place has improved slightly since I was last here," the old man said softly.

"I know Black is stupid but you don't honestly think he would hide in his own house do you sir?" Karmina's ears perked up. This was Sirius' house; Remus had said something like that hadn't he? As quietly as she could, she eased out of the room, set on following the two.

"No Severus, I don't think he's hiding out here. He might have stopped here to get a wand or money though. You never know. Now I do not want to be here all afternoon. I would greatly like to be out of here by three o'clock. I've no doubt that Hagrid will very much need a friend tonight." Karmina saw the greasy man grin evilly and though she did not know who Hagrid was or why he would need a friend, she already knew she didn't like the hook-nosed git.

"How exactly are we returning to the grounds sir? I was under the impression that the floo networks were blocked."

"Indeed they have been, everywhere but in my office though I monitor that network very closely. Now let's get down to business here."

"Why am I here sir?"

"I thought, Severus, that that would have been painfully obvious. No? You are the most likely to find something because you most want to find something. Look into any rooms that look recently disturbed, safes open. If my memory serves me, Mrs. Black kept spare money in the drawing room." The two wizards continued down the hall and Karmina followed closely on their heals. She'd had only limited experience with floo but she knew it was her only option. She hoped she'd be able to come through before the old man would notice. She assumed he was Dumbledore and she could immediately tell why he was so missed. He emanated power but also "goodness".

Before she knew it, the search was completed and the two visibly defeated wizards returned to the library. "You go first Severus. Here, have a pinch," Dumbledore offered him a small, purple pouch. Severus took a pinch and threw it in the fire; stepping into the licking, green flames, he said "Headmaster's Office, Hogwarts," and disappeared in a swirl. "Oh dear, oh dear, what am I to do?" he murmured. He then took a pinch and threw them into the flames but before he could step in, Karmina dove in, whispering "Headmaster's Office, Hogwarts."

"Blast! It happened again; I really need to talk to Deidre about her supply," Dumbledore muttered, taking another pinch and hoped this time it would work. As he stepped into his office, Severus had already left, returning to the dark and dreary confines of the dungeons. Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw something dart by but it was gone the next moment. "This is certainly a strange day," he muttered, tugging pensively on the tip of his beard.

Karmina felt her blood pulse through her veins, worrying that the old man, Dumbledore, would be able to hear her deafening heart beat. She was sure he had seen her, and she closed her eyes, bracing herself against the inevitable. After a moment, however, when he had not approached her and had instead taken a seat behind his enormous desk, she breathed a sigh of relief and softly tiptoed out of the room. Now she had to find Harry. The halls were still rather busy and she found it quite difficult to wade through the endless sea of students. She nearly laughed out loud when she stepped on a boy's foot only to have him turn, irate, to the girl behind him who happened to be his younger sister.

"Viola! That hurt!"

"For your information Michael, I didn't do anything," she shot back, sticking out her tongue.

"You're so immature!"

Karmina continued down the hall, craning her neck for any sign of Harry. She caught sight of him; he seemed perturbed and was walking quickly down the hall. She sprinted to catch up with him and shadowed his rapid strides untill he finally stopped before a large portrait of a very fat woman. He whispered a word she didn't catch and the portrait swung open, allowing him inside. She stepped in just in time before it closed behind her. Harry walked over to Ron and Hermione. By the time she made her way to his side, they were deep in conversation, lines of anxiety straining Harry's face. She inched nearer to them, straining her ears to hear.
'We've got to go. He can't sit there on his own waiting for the executioner!' Harry said, a bit of an urgent whine creeping into his voice.

'Sunset though. We'd never be allowed. . . specially you, Harry. . .' Ron added.

'If we only had the Invisibility Cloak.' Karmina's spine froze at this but she forced herself to listen.

'Where is it?' Hermione asked.

'. . . if Snape sees me anywhere near there again, I'm in serious trouble,' Harry said.

'That's true,' said Hermione, getting to her feet. 'If he sees you. . . how do you open the witch's hump again?'

'You-you tap it and say, "Dissendium",' said Harry. 'But-'

Before Harry could finish, Hermione strode out, leaving the way Harry and Karmina had come in. Harry and Ron stayed where they were.

'She hasn't gone to get it?' Ron asked, his eyebrows disappearing behind the fringe of his ginger bangs. Harry shrugged, looking after her, worried.

A/N: I know this is hopelessly late but I hope you liked it. The next one should come out sometime in the next couple weeks. Happy Knowing-When-Deadly Hallows-Comes-Out-Day!