Turning Back Time
Chapter Two: When Am I

Hermione whirled through a dense, black darkness, spinning around and around through the nothingness. Stupid, stupid Ron! She thought to herself. Reverto?

It was supposed to be reverso. It was supposed to make time move backward for what was inside the cauldron. How would reverto change the spell? A fear crept into her heart and started to spread throughout her body, leaving her entire being completely paralyzed.

One eye peaked open and she saw a light moving toward her incredibly fast. Was it moving toward her or was she moving toward it? She couldn't tell. She couldn't feel anything anymore but something inside her said that the light was good.

Soon it engulfed her entirely and she felt warmth spread over her body and something solid beneath her feet. The light was so intense that she shut her eyes and shielded them with her arm. When she opened her eyes again she saw a familiar scene. She was outside Hogwarts castle.

What had happened? Students were milling about as usual but something was different. She set off across the grass toward the castle and passed by faces that seemed oddly, distantly familiar but no one she knew by name. She had to get back to Ron. She had to get to the dungeons.

For some reason her heart was beating so hard in her chest that she could barely breathe. She made it into the castle with no problem but ran into a group of Gryffindors she had never seen before.

"Sorry," she mumbled as she moved past them. They too seemed oddly familiar but she couldn't put her finger on it. She raced down the stairs, jumping down numerous at a time. Her hair was whipping behind her as she dodged oncoming Slytherin traffic. She turned a sharp corner and almost ran into another group. She didn't remember this many students being in the hall when she and Ron head started the potion but perhaps she had been out for a while.

"Ron?" she called as she entered the third dungeon to the left. She was surprised to see that the room held not Ron but was filled with potions storage. She headed out into the hall to double check that she had entered the right dungeon. Nope. No mistake. Where is Ron?

Hermione took a deep breath and decided to head up to the Gryffindor common room. Things seemed different as she headed up the stairs. Portraits seemed to be in the wrong places. Suits of armors seemed less disgruntled than usual. Filch must be doing some rearranging or something.

When she made it to the portrait of the Fat Lady, she hit a road block. "Incorrect password," the obese woman in pink uttered.

"What do you mean wrong password? It was only changed just this morning to..." Hermione protested, but someone interrupted.

"Don't worry about it," said a voice from behind her. "Friend of mine always loses track of the passwords as well. Erumpent."

She turned to see yet another face that she couldn't pair to a name just yet but that seemed so familiar. "Thanks," she said as she stepped into the common room. He followed close behind her.



"I'm sorry, I don't feel like I've met you before," he said, brushing brown hair out of his eyes. "The name is Sirius. Sirius Black."

"Is this a joke?" she said, backing away from him, inching toward the fireplace.

"No," he didn't look away from her eyes, even as they shot around the room, searching for a sign of Harry or Ron. "Why would that be a joke? I know my reputation precedes me but..."

"Sirius Black is dead. Who are you?" She said, confused and a little nauseous.

"I assure you I'm very alive. Are you okay?" He seemed genuinely concerned. "Have you hit your head recently? Maybe a potion or a spell gone wrong?"

You have no idea. "Okay. I'm going to ask you a question only you would know. I mean that only Sirius would know. What do you friends call you?"

"What?" he didn't miss a beat. "What are you talking about? Are you sure you didn't hit your head?"

"What do you friends call you?" he furrowed his brow. "Just as I thought. Who are you?"

She pulled her wand from beneath her cloak and put it up to his neck. Is this right? He does look a good bit like Sirius. Bloody hell. "I'll only ask this one more time. Who are you?"

There were creaks as a group of students headed down the stairs. "What've you done now, Sirius?"

Hermione's eyes flitted over his face and her arm dropped when she saw what was most definitely a young James Potter. She could tell because he looked so much like Harry it was astounding. "When the hell am I?"