Chapter 16 – Time Turners

Harry trudged into the Great Hall covered in ash, Hermione and Tonks behind him. They stared around at the sight that greeted them. Once again, the Hall had been converted into a makeshift hospital, with the injured lying along the walls, moaning, while the dead were given space at the back. Most of the injured were Hogwarts students who had been struck by falling stone that had been dislodged from the castle's brickwork as shrapnel from the Zygon ship collided with it. Aurors made up the rest of the casualties, and all of the fatalities.

"Harry!"

Harry turned wearily to see Dumbledore walking towards him. He was shocked to notice that Dumbledore's eyes were devoid of their usual twinkle; they appeared rather forlorn and lifeless, as if the constant death and destruction of the last few days was taking an immense toll on his will to live.

"Professor Smith's dead, Professor," said Harry, cutting straight to the point. "He was in that ship when it exploded, and we don't think he got out in time."

Dumbledore sighed. "I had feared that that was the case. Not that he'd been in the ship. No, rather, that he was killed by it." He smiled sadly. "Thank you for telling me, Harry, I shall inform the staff." He patted Harry on the shoulder, then walked off in the direction of the staff common room.

Tonks bit her lip. "I'm just going to have a look here," she said worriedly. "You know – in case anyone I know is..." She trailed off, not wanting to voice the possibility that some of her friends were lying, unmoving, at the back of the Hall.

Harry glanced down at his robes, then at Hermione's. "We should get changed," he said. "We look filthy."

Hermione nodded in silent agreement, and together they began walking up to the Gryffindor common room. On the way, Harry reflected on the possible circumstances of Professor Smith's demise. Had he been captured, bound, then left in the ship while it was detonated remotely? Had the destruction of the ship been an act of sabotage, or a mere accident? Did Professor Smith know it was going to explode, or was it unexpected? If he knew it was going to happen, did he try and escape, or did he try and stop it, but ran out of time before he could?

Harry froze. Time...ran out of time...An idea began to form.

"Right, Katie's gone up to bed, so spill: how do we save him?" Ron asked Harry late that night. He, Hermione and Tonks were sitting in the Gryffindor common room, waiting for Harry to tell them his idea on how to save Professor Smith. Ron had to admit that he was very hopeful, as he felt very guilty that he wasn't there when Professor Smith was teleplorted, or whatever to the Zygon ship, nor when it exploded. He blamed himself in a way; he thought that if he'd been there, nothing bad would have happened.

"Time turners," Harry said simply. "We break into the Ministry, steal a time turner, then go back a few hours and rescue Professor Smith.

Hermione leapt to her feet. "No."

"Sorry?"

"No, you can't do that, Harry," Hermione said. "Think of the consequences if you did something wrong, what would happen if you were seen? It's too risky. And besides, you'd be interfering with time itself!"

"How?" Harry asked, confused. "I'd be doing exactly what we did with Sirius and Buckbeak in third year!"

Hermione shook her head. "No, Harry, you wouldn't. We could only go back and save them because they'd already been saved. We didn't change history, we created it."

"But what if us going back to rescue Professor Smith creates history too? It's already happened, Hermione," Harry said crossly.

"Okay, then," Hermione said. "Where are you? If you have gone back in time, and have somehow managed to make sure both you and Professor Smith escape the explosion unseen, where are you?"

"I dunno," Harry shrugged. "Somewhere downstairs, I would imagine."

"But that's just the point!" Hermione cried. "You can't be seen!"

Tonks sighed. "Relax, Hermione," she said. "If they're seen, it's not that big a deal anyway. No one will think twice – unless it's a Professor, and they'll only ask why Harry's downstairs, not up here sleeping. Being seen only matters if there's the risk of running into yourself or someone who saw you literally two seconds ago somewhere else. And even then, you're only in danger if your past self is stupid enough to try and attack you. There's no paradoxes or anything involved."

"But that goes against everything wizarding literature says on the subject! Everything McGonagall said two years ago!" Hermione said furiously. "You're doing what Professor Smith does:going against everything everyone says; you're contradicting the facts!"

Tonks snorted. "Isn't that basically what I do? Metamorphmagi – people who can change their entire bodies by the power of the mind. Isn't that 'contradicting the facts' of human biology?"

"That's different!" Hermione said defensively, but she had to admit that Tonks had a point. She'd have to research metamorphmagi sometime in the future.

Harry used Tonks' explanation of her opinion on the intricacies of time travel to drive home his point.

"See?" he said. "All I need to do is go back in time and save Professor Smith. I don't need to be worried about being seen at all, I just get there and get out."

"You're forgetting one thing though, mate," Ron said. "You want a time turner, right? Well, how are you going to get one? It's not like you can just stroll into the Ministry and take one off a shelf!"

"I'm sure we'll manage," Harry said dismissively.

"We?" Hermione said sharply. "Surely you don't think we're going too!"

"Well, yeah," said Harry. "You're coming with me, aren't you?"

Hermione and Ron shook their heads.

"No, Harry, we're not," said Hermione quietly. "I'm sorry, but you just can't seem to see that Professor Smith is dead, and nothing, not even time travel, will reverse that."

"Fine," said Harry, his temper rising. "If none of my friends will help me save our only hope of survival, I'll do it alone. I'll break into the Ministry and find the Time Turners. When Professor Smith and I walk through the portrait hole, you'll know I was right."

Hermione sighed in resignation. "Whatever, Harry. Just remember, if it all goes wrong, it's your fault, not ours."

"I'll go with you him," Tonks said unexpectedly, rolling her eyes. "He needs someone to watch him, and if you guys don't, he'll go by himself and get into trouble."

Harry bristled. "I don't need anyone, Tonks. I can go by myself."

"No, Harry. You're only fifteen, there are some things you aren't capable of yet."

Harry opened his mouth to argue, but Ron interrupted him.

"She's right, Harry. You can't just go charging off to the Ministry by yourself. Plus, she's an auror, she'll know her way around."

Harry had to admit he had a point. "Fine," he said ungracefully. "We'll go tomorrow after breakfast. Goodnight."

He stalked off up to the boys' dormitories without another word.

Hermione sighed. "We'd better be getting to bed too," she said, stifling a yawn. "That's for going with him, Tonks. He can be really stubborn when he wants to."

"So can you, Hermione," Tonks grinned.

Hermione scowled as she walked up the stairs to the girls' dormitories.

"Night, Tonks," Ron said as he too disappeared upstairs.

"G'night, Ron," the auror replied. She remained seated for a few minutes before getting up, yawning and pushing open the portrait hole, heading for one of the castle's many spare bedrooms.

He walked along the corridor, straight towards the single door at the end. His heart thumped in his chest and he reached out his hand...

The door opened! He walked into the room beyond, and large, circular construct, lined with many doors. He continued across to the one immediately opposite him and flung it open –

A Zygon stood behind it, grinning evilly, clutching a time turner. It raised a weapon, aimed briefly, and fired.

Harry's eyes shot open. Another dream of the long, dark corridor, the same one Mister Weasley had been attacked in! But why was the Zygon there? Why was it holding a time turner? Frowning, Harry closed his eyes, and was asleep within minutes. When he awoke several hours later, the dream could only be sparingly recalled.

Harry and Tonks were unable to enact their plan at all the next day, as both were given jobs to help make the Hall suitable for eating in again, as the injured aurors had all been transferred to either the Hospital Wing or Saint Mungos. As such, Harry and Tonks changed their plans; they would leave the following day instead. So, at half-past twelve in the afternoon, two days after he first formulated his plans, Harry met Tonks outside Hogwarts' gates.

"Ready, Harry?" Tonks asked.

Harry nodded.

Tonks stuck out her hand. "Side-along apparition," she explained, noticing his confusion. "You're too young to apparate, obviously, so I can take you along with me." She wriggled her fingers. "Come on, you don't want to be late, do you?"

Feeling rather nervous, Harry grasped Tonks' hand. A second later, the world around them vanished, and Harry found himself travelling what felt like a rubbery tube; he was being compressed from all sides, he couldn't breathe –

As suddenly as it had begun, the sensation stopped. Dimly aware that he'd just apparated for the first time, Harry took in his surroundings. He and Tonks were in an alley way in the middle of London, and if he had to guess, they weren't far from the Ministry.

Harry felt Tonks' wand rap on his head, and the sensation of the disillusionment charm as it made its way down his body.

"What's this for?" he asked, staring down at what used to be his clothes, but was now the texture of the alley wall behind him.

"We can't just waltz into the Ministry without concealing ourselves, silly," Tonks said as she applied the disillusionment charm to herself. "The cleaners'd be onto us in seconds."

"But doesn't the Ministry have enchantments and charms that detect concealment? "

Tonks snorted. "'Course not. I don't believe it has since You-Know-Who was defeated. Fudge believes the Ministry to be impenetrable and completely safe from anyone or anything."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Tell that to Voldemort's snake."

Tonks grinned. "And the Order. Besides, it's not even working hours yet, there'll be barely anyone around."

They apparated into the Minsitry, and luckily for them, no one appeared to hear the loud crack they emitted as they arrived. They quietly crept to the elevators, and breathed a sigh of relief once the Atrium was out of sight.

"What department are the time turners in?" Harry asked as the elevator they were in sped backwards.

"Dunno," Tonks admitted, "but there are rumours that the Department of Mysteries is experimenting on time, so I figured that'd be the best place to start.

The elevator halted, before plummeting downwards. A few seconds later, the lift stopped again.

"Level Nine, Department of Mysteries," the cool, soothing female Ministry voice stated.

The elevator grille opened to reveal one, long dark corridor with a solitary door at the end.

Harry froze. "Hang on," he said. "I've seen this place before...this is where Mister Weasley got attacked by Voldemort's snake!" It was also, he realised with a jolt, the same corridor that he had dreamed of for the last few months – the ones where he was desperate to open the door at the end. He remained silent, however; he didn't feel like sharing that information just yet.

Tonks paused, before hesitantly replying, "If you must know, the Order thinks Voldemort's after something down here."

"A weapon?"

"No, something worse. Come on, the sooner we're done here, the better." she said.

The pair cautiously exited the lift and walked quietly down the corridor.

"Alright, here goes," Harry said nervously, and he reached for the handle. He was about to find out what lay behind the doors – though he had a suspicious feeling he already knew. Shrugging the feeling off, he turned the handle and pushed. Miraculously, the door swung open without a sound. Walking through the doorway, Harry and Tonks found themselves in a circular room, with doors embedded at regular intervals along the edge.

The memories of Harry's dream that night came rushing back.

"I had a dream of this place a few nights ago," Harry said slowly. "It's weird, I know, but there was a Zygon behind that door straight ahead."

Tonks turned her head sharply to look at him - not that he noticed. She was disillusioned after all.

"I did too," she said, frowning. "It was of a time turner, which turned into a zygon."

Harry pondered this revelation, remembering the similar dreams he, Hermione and Tonks had had at Grimauld Place, showing them the zygon before it appeared later that same day. Were the dreams a warning? Would a zygon turn up when they found the time turners? No, that wouldn't happen, he decided. They were all at Hogwarts.

"It's probably nothing," he said eventually.

Tonks remained unconvinced, but she let the subject drop.

"Let's go straight ahead," Harry said, and he marched up to the door immediately opposite, and with only a moment's hesitation, opened it.

Harry knew immediately that he'd chosen the right door. The room beyond was rather small, but the walls were lined with beautiful antique cabinets, the lower halves of which were carved with intricate, ornate patterns. The top halves had glass windows, along him to gaze up the time tuners contained within, their hour-glass shape causing them to sparkle in the dim light.

Tonks lifted their disillusionment charms as they entered the room.

"These are beautiful," she said in amazement, moving closer to inspect one of the cabinets. She frowned. "Harry, have a look at this."

Harry came over and followed her gaze.

"No!" he gasped. He took his glasses off and cleaned them furiously before jamming them back on his face. But there was no change. Professor Smith's original form was clearly engraved on the cabinet; the carved figure even wore a bow tie!

"Maybe Hermione was right," he said slowly. "Maybe Professor Smith can travel in – oof!"

Harry was slammed to the ground mid-sentence, knocking the breath out of him. Tonks reacted immediately, whipping out her wand and sending a few stunners towards their assailant. However, the mysterious attacker was too quick, and he easily dodged Tonks' spells before throwing something at her feet. The object sat inactive on the floor for a brief second, before shooting a column of gas right into her face.

"What the -?" she spluttered, before collapsing, convulsing sickeningly.

"Freeze, human," hissed a voice, and Harry rolled onto his back to see a zygon staring down at him, a weapon in its hand.

With a shock, he realised that his dream had been correct after all; a zygon had shown up when they'd found the time turners! But what was the cause of the dreams? Was someone sending them messages from the future? If so, who?

Harry gulped. "What have you done with Tonks?" he demanded. He couldn't let her be dead; he'd essentially forced her to come...

"She has inhaled some nerve gas, she will revive presently," the zygon said, and Harry sighed in relief. "As for what I want...the answer is the eradication of all human life on this planet, and the establishment of a new zygon civilisation!"

"Why? What have we done to you?"

"Nothing, but your species is so pathetic it does not deserve to survive. Zygons are superior! We will colonise this planet; it will be Zygor Two!"

"What are you in here for, anyway? What do the zygons want with time turners?" Harry asked, playing for time. Hopefully, the nerve gas would not last long, and Tonks would wake up.

The zygon scowled. "We have found ourselves in the unfortunate position where we do not have an army. We need one of these primitive 'time turners', so I infiltrated this establishment on the advice of my...associate. By luck, you and the female blundered in, leading me straight to where I needed to go."

"'We?," Harry said sharply. "Who are you working with?"

The zygon ignored him, instead reaching behind its back and unclipping a device, which it attached to the side of one of the time turner cabinets.

"How did you see us?" Harry continued. "We were under disillusionment charms!"

The zygon rolled its eyes. "Zygon eyesight is superior to a human's. I could see both of you clearly.

Harry groaned. "You'll never get out of here," he said through gritted teeth, changing subject. "You said it yourself, Tonks'll revive soon; she'll stop you from escaping."

"Idiot human," the zygon sneered. "You forget, we zygons have vastly superior technology to your primitive particle emitters! My temporary ally is currently preparing to teleport both me and one of these cabinets away."

"Liar," spat Harry. "This place is covered in anti-disapparition charms, whoever you're working with will never be able get you out."

The zygon made a sound that could only be described as scornful laughter. "Teleportation is not 'disapparition', whatever that is," it said. "Teleportation involves the breaking down of an object or body into its individual atoms, which are then transported across space to a receiver. No 'charm' is going to stop that from occurring."

"How will your accomplice know which cabinet to, err, teleport away? Or you, for that matter?" Harry asked, playing for time. Come on, Tonks, wake up!

"The teleport is keyed to my molecular structure, while the cabinet has a transponder attached to it," the zygon replied, indicating the device he had just placed on the cabinet.

"Okay...why do you want the time turners anyway? I forgot."

Tonks' fingers twitched.

The zygon laughed. "Just how stupid do you think I am, human? I've already told you why we need them, and I'm not going to my repeat myself. You'll have to figure it out yourself – if you make it out of here alive."

Tonks' eyelids began to flutter as blue spark clustered around the zygon and the cabinet.

"Ah, it is almost time for me to depart. But before I go, a word of advice: run!" the zygon leered, before disappearing in a haze of blue light.

"No!" shouted Harry, but it was too late. The zygon and the cabinet had gone, only to be replaced by...

Beep, beep, beep, beep.

Despite having almost negligible knowledge of the muggle world, apart from his experiences from his first nine years of life, Harry knew a bomb when he saw one. As such, he stared in horror at the spherical object sitting where the cabinet had been. Uttering several expletives, he hurried over to Tonks and shook her furiously.

"Tonks, come on, wake up!" he said desperately.

Tonks groaned and opened her eyes. "Wazzgoinon?" she mumbled, blinking furiously.

"We need to get out of here. Now."

"Why?" the auror asked, before noticing the beeping device. "Merlin!" she cried, scrambling to her feet. Grabbing Harry's hand, she pulled him out of the room. "How the bloody hell did a grenade get down here?" she asked as they tore through the circular antechamber.

"Zygons," Harry said, and Tonks nodded.

They were halfway down the long, dark corridor when Harry skidded to a halt.

"Look, we can't hang around here!" Tonks said urgently. "We need to get in the elevator!"

"I forgot the time turner!"Harry said. He turned to run back to the time turner room to get one, but Tonks held him back.

"No time," Tonks said grimly. "Quick, in the elevator."

But there was no elevator; the grille opened to reveal nothing but an empty shaft.

Tonks swore. "It must have been called somewhere else," she said furiously. "Another won't get here in time..."

She and Harry turned to look back down the corridor.

BOOM!

The grenade in the time turner room exploded, sending a massive fireball hurtling down the corridor.

Harry stared in shock as the fireball rapidly closed the space between them. He couldn't move, the fireball was going to go straight through him –

"GET DOWN!" Tonks yelled, pushing Harry to the ground.

Harry winced as he hit the smooth, cold tiles, and raised his head slightly to see what was going on. Tonks was standing, her wand raised, pointing at the approaching fireball. Just when Harry thought that she was going to be burnt to death, the fireball impacted the shield charm Tonks had conjured in the nick of time. The charm was of a variety Harry hadn't seen before; it appeared to be made of water, as it took on a very fluid appearance, and reflected the bright light of the fireball. Whatever it was, it was working, as the fireball was being progessively extinguished with a loud hiss. The effort to maintain the shield was taking its toll on Tonks, however, as her face was screwed up in concentration, and her wand arm was shaking uncontrollably.

After what seemed like an eternity, Tonks lowered her wand, the fireball completely extinguished.

"You alright, Harry?" she said, looking very exhausted. She collapsed against the wall, breathing heavily.

"Yeah," Harry replied shakily. He looked back down the corridor. All he could see was a large pile of rubble, presumably the remains of the antechamber and the time tuner room. He groaned. "I'm not looking forward to getting through that," he said.

"Why would you want to get through that mess?" Tonks asked.

"To get a time turner, of course!"

Tonks shook her head. "Harry, they'll have all been destroyed by an explosion of that size! I'm sorry, but there's no chance of getting one now."

Harry sighed. He knew Tonks was right, there was nothing else he could do to rescue Professor Smith now.

"Fine," he said crossly. "Let's get out of here, then."

"Just a minute!" the auror panted. "Need a moment to catch my breath."

Harry waited impatiently while she did so.

Finally, Tonks stood up. "Grab my arm," she said, "we'll be able to apparate out now, the anti-disapparition charms will have collapsed after the explosion."

Harry took hold of her arm, and she turned on the spot.

They reappeared just outside of Hogwarts, almost in exactly the same spot that they had disapparated from about half an hour ago.

"Oof!" Harry groaned, as his feet met the ground. He wasn't quite sure that he was comfortable with the sensation of apparition. He hoped it was something he could get used to and tolerate, especially if it was going to become a frequent form of transportation

"Sorry about the rough landing," Tonks apologised. "Apparition needs a lot of concentration."

"Never mind," Harry said. "Let's just get back to Hogwarts."

Tonks nodded, and they began walking up the path to the castle. However, by the time they reached the covered bridge, they knew something was wrong.

"Where is everyone?" Harry asked, frowning. "The clock tower courtyard's usual filled with people on a Saturday, even during meal times."

"Maybe they're all inside," Tonks suggested.

"I suppose, especially after yesterday, but still...weird."

They continued walking, and their suspicions were further aroused when they saw no one hanging out under the clock tower, nor in the third floor corridor. By the time they had descended to the second floor, even Tonks had to admit that something was amiss.

"You'd think that someone would be walking around," she grumbled. "I vote we check the Great Hall. Someone's guarenteed to be there."

They slowly made their way to the Great Hall. As they walked through the deserted corridors, Harry couldn't help but wonder whether the disappearing populace of the school was a result of something malicious - the zygons sprang to mind, particularly after the encounter in the Ministry.

It appeared as if Tonks was thinking about a similar subject, as a moment later, she asked, "Harry, what happened while I was unconscious in the Ministry?"

"A zygon stole a time turner," Harry replied. "It teleported out and left a grenade behind."

"What?" Tonks cried. "Why didn't you tell me? If one of those things has got its hand on a time turner, who knows what it could do!"

"I was going to, but in case you didn't notice, we've been a bit busy," Harry shot back. He sighed. "Come on, the sooner we find out what's going here, the better."

A few minutes later, they were finally in the Entrance Hall. As the approached the Great Hall, they could hear the sound of voices from within.

"Thank Merlin," Tonks said in relief. "I was beginning to think something was wrong."

"Telling me," Harry grumbled. He walked up the doors and pushed them open.

"There he is! There's Potter!" someone shouted excitedly.

Harry turned to see a stunner burst from the speaker's wand and head straight towards him. Before he even had time to register what was happening, the spell had crossed the distance between him and the caster –

Only for it to dissipate harmlessly against the shield charm Tonks had conjured at the last second.

"Get the boy!" hissed a high, cold voice.

Robed men charged at Harry and Tonks from all directions, converging on the two, sending spells their direction.

It was at this moment that Harry realised why Tonks was an auror. She reacted immediately to the onslaught, deflecting the initial wave of stunners back at their opponents. Most of the deflected spells were blocked, but some managed to slip past the mens' shield charms and knock them unconscious. Tonks then went on the offensive: whirling her wand so fast it was a blur, she drew the flames from all the candles in the Hall to her wand; with a flick, the fire formed a barrier around the approaching men. Taking advantage of the distraction, Tonks fired stunners at the men. All of them found their mark.

However, she had only managed to take out the first dozen or so of the robed men, and at least forty more were heading their way. Yet Tonks did not back down, and she engaged all of them in combat, dodging and blocking spells, while at the same time still managing to find time to go on the offensive.

Harry watched her take on the mysterious figures, his mouth wide open. He knew Tonks was an auror, but he'd never imagined her in a situation like this, outnumbered, but holding her own. The way she fought was incredible, it was like she was someone else entirely, some one who just happened to identical to her in appearance.

Harry shook himself out of his daze and withdrew his own wand, preparing to help Tonks fight off their unknown assailants. Tonks noticed his movement, and shook her head.

"No, Harry, you can't stay," she shouted, dodging a body-bind curse. "They're after you; you need to run. Get to Hogsmeade and summon the Knight Bus, you'll be safe then."

"But what about you?" Harry said. "I can't just leave you!"

One of their attackers managed to dodge Tonks stunner, and leered over her, grinning madly. Tonks wasted no time, and floored the man with a well placed punch to the head.

"I appreciate the saving-people thing," she said, summoning several plates from one of the House tables, and sending them flying at one of the men. "But you're more important than me. Now, go!"

"Incarcerous!"

The ropes appeared out of mid air and wrapped themselves around Tonks. The auror struggled against her bonds, but it was no use; she lost her balance and toppled to the ground.

"Run, Harry!" Tonks cried desperately.

Needing no further persuasion, Harry turned to run, but a second later, he found himself on the ground, thick rope around his legs.

"Bring them here," said the high, cold voice.

Harry hastily attempted to loosen the rope around his legs, but it was no use. Two of the men grabbed his arms and began dragging him up to the other end of the Hall, to the staff tables. Harry stared around at the Hall as he was dragged between the tables. The students were all seated as usual, but all, with the exception of the Slytherins, wore expressions of extreme terror. Turning his attention to the staff tables, Harry realised with a jolt, that all the teachers, bar Snape, were gagged and bound to their chairs, unable to move. It appeared as if there unknown assailants had snuck in during lunch and taken control of the school by surprise.

With a grunt, Tonks was dumped unceremoniously in front of the Hufflepuff table. A few of the Seventh, Sixth and Fifth years appeared to recognise her, as their eyebrows lifted slightly in surprise.

Harry was dropped at the head of the Gryffindor table a second later.

"Ah, Harry, at last," the voice said, and Harry turned towards it, and recoiled immediately. Voldemort was staring down at him, his mouth stretched into a cruel smile. Harry's mind was in a whir. If Voldemort was here, that meant that the robed men, their attackers, were the Death Eaters! But how? Everyone had told him that all the Death Eaters had been killed by the zygons. So how were they here as well?

"What do you want?" he spat.

"Merely to finish what I set out to do nearly fifteen years ago," Voldemort replied, circling the boy at his feet. "Your friend put up a good fight, but in the end, she was overpowered by the power of Lord Voldemort." He gestured around at the Hall. "How very fitting that your fellow students and teachers will watch as, after fifteen long years, your borrowed time finally expires."

"No!" Hermione shrieked. "Leave him alone!"

Bang!

Hermione fell silent

"Such bravery," tutted Voldemort, smiling cruelly at Hermione, before turning his attention back to Harry. "And now, Harry Potter, you shall die." He raised his wand. "Avada –"

A faint wheezing, groaning sound echoed through the Great Hall.

Voldemort lowered his wand, and glared around the Hall, trying to locate the source of the disturbance.

"What is that sound?" he hissed.

The Death Eaters looked at each other and shrugged.

The students gasped, and several pointed to the middle of the Hall. A light hung in midair, in between the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables. The wheezing, groaning sound rose to a crescendo as a blue box slowly faded into existence under the light, solidifying with a final thud.

The Death Eaters blinked. Voldemort stared at it in confusion.

The doors squeaked open and a head popped out.

"Hello, Harry," Professor Smith said, grinning goofily. "Did you miss me?"

Author note: The Doctor's alive! Hooray! Which isn't surprising at all really, considering how much plot armour he has!

As you hopefully noticed, this chapter is the most Doctor-lite chapter we've had in ages. And for those of you worrying about the destruction of the time turner room and the circular antechamber, don't fret, the Ministry rebuilds them, and they're there when Harry and co. arrive to save Sirius later in the year.

Also, the story has now received 100 reviews! Thanks a lot guys! Because of the milestone, as a special treat, I'm giving you all the opportunity to ask me a question - any question - about the sequel, which I will answer honestly, if, and only if, the answer does not spoil any major plot points. So, bring on the questions!

Replies to reviews:

aronpuma: Yes, Hufflepuffs are overlooked quite a lot, especially in the books. Tonks is one of my favourite characters, so I had to have her in this story...she's awesome, as I hoped I showed in this chapter.

Haven Wood: Thanks! Yeah, I kind of agree with you about Harry's behaviour, but I still think it's justifiable, especially after all that's happened to him in the last few days, plus it's Umbridge, plus she murdered someone right in front of him. Thanks! And yes, this is the first time the Doctor consciously encounters one of Clara's echoes. The story's set before Asylum of the Daleks, so he hasn't met Oswin yet. Thanks again!

Traceyface3: Yes, 11 will be coming back - in the next chapter, I might add. And the Doctor's identity won't really be revealed. People will see him do stuff, and Dumbledore will approach him for explanations, but in true Doctor style, he ignores the requests and leaves as soon as he can. Thanks!

Insanityisgood25: Cliffhangers! ;) Why can Tonks remember? Good question; I'm not answering it! (yet!). Was her dad a companion? Maybe, I don't know (well, I do!). He might have, he might not. Don't worry, you'll get some answers in this story - some, mind you - the rest will have to wait for the sequel!

Sakura Lisel: Thanks for reviewing! I'd like to direct you to my reply (the Chapter 9 author's note) to a similar criticism of the same passage, as it addresses all of your points. Although it applies to Hermione and Ron specifically, I think they could apply to basically anyone.

SuOmAlAiNeN92: 10 now sounds like 10? Good, that's what I intended (it'll be explained why later). And yes, as you know by now, this chapter was very Doctor-lite, though the next chapter isn't.