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Unedited...
Chapter 20: Turning Time
The two of them got spat out of an invisible tube and spun out of control before falling face-first on to a dusty floor.
On and on they went, rolling on the stone floor until she felt herself crashing into what felt like black leather and finally coming to a halt.
Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick...
An odd ticking rang in her ears, reminding her of just how desolate the place actually was.
Tired and exhausted, Isabella simply lay there motionless next to Sirius, making no effort to get up or even move. Her every limb hurt, every breath she took in felt like knives stabbing at her lungs. She didn't know where she was, neither did she care.
She was done.
No more, she thought, mutely taking in the golden hue of a massive dome that arched several feet above them.
Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick...
The odd clicking of a clock resounded louder around her now. She didn't know if she was imagining it or if it was real, but she didn't care...
On her right, she saw Sirius wearily staring at the vast expanse above them too, but his eyes continued to hold a deep sense of determination—a look that said he was willing to go to hell and back over a thousand times more for his brother...
Not before long did Isabella realise the two of them were actually wrapped inside a gigantic but lonely amphitheater, shrouded in silence and a time long, long ago. This was somewhere in Woldorin... Where the ancient Gryffindors had thrived. All the wars fought, all the games lost and won right here in this abandoned arena, all the grand negotiations between Woldorin and Caedesmort and everything else that may have occurred at the time flashed before her eyes almost as if she had witnessed them herself, several thousand years ago. If only she knew this Age better and knew all that had actually happened with the four kingdoms that had led to this very moment in present day.
If only...
Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick...
After what felt like forever, she heard him finally heave a sigh before propping himself up on his hand to face her—and her heart stopped beating entirely. The look of uncertain skepticism etched in his features sent an uncomfortable warmth through her, one that terrified her more than anything... Because, she realised this was the first time they were alone again ever since the kiss...
A moment passed, when neither said anything or moved while she waited on with bated breath. While Sirius seemed to have taken the bull by its horns and looked her straight in the eye, Isabella chose cowardice and avoided his eye, fearing she would drown in her feelings for him all over again...
"What are you thinking?" he muttered, gazing deeply into her eyes, holding meanings and emotions she wasn't ready to accept were actually real; unfortunately, before she even could stop herself, she felt a hot blush crawl up her neck, and spread like wildfire all over her face.
"Oi... You alright?" he smiled, giving her a quick nudge to the side.
Isabella shook off the butterflies and forced herself off the floor too until she was propped up on her elbows, finally allowing herself to look into the unforgiving tease spread across his face. The bloody wanker... "Why, d'you plan to kiss me again if I said no?" she blurted out, making his eyes snap open.
A stunned silence followed that before he burst out laughing.
Grinning broadly down at her, he said, "D'you really want me to answer that?"
Isabella rolled her eyes. Peter was right, Sirius DID want to go back to snogging her, and quite desperately too.
"No, but I do need to know what we have to do here so we can get back to the others. So, chop chop!"
Sirius, though, didn't say anything and stayed put, continuing to hold her gaze like he had a lot to say.
"What? What is it, Sirius?" she asked.
"I've bodged it all up horribly, haven't I?" he said softly. "For the both of us?"
A dense air fell between them, as she watched him staring helplessly down at her, almost as if he was regretting it all...
"Er... Sirius, I'll always be your friend if that's what you're worried about—"
"—Wh...?!" he gasped, choking on the spot, a look of complete shock flashing his eyes. "AS IF! Th... Merlin's beard, that is NOT what I meant!" he said crossly, as if he had been rudely slapped awake from a dream. And before long, he was shaking his head, regretting ever having brought about this up. "You know what, my mistake, I should've known better—!"
"—What? Why are you getting so upset all of a sudden?"
"Because, I just realised you're as thick as Peter when it comes to these... things!" he muttered before jumping up to his feet. "Thanks for ruining the moment, by the way," he said scathingly whilst dusting himself off irritatedly. "Get up then," he said, putting his hand out for her to take.
She looked at his outstretched hand hesitantly before scowling at him. "Why, forgive my lack of 'experience' in the field!" she said while allowing him to pull her off the ground.
Horrible move, though, because she suddenly felt him tug at her and pull her deliberately close to him... Almost too close.
She felt her whole body tense and freeze up instantly under his death grip, almost as if he was daring her to do what her heart was screaming at her... Trembling a little, she saw his eyes flicker to her lips and back for just a split second, his pupils dilated to the size of large olives now... Eons of time seemed to pass between them in that one instant when they stood, looking into each others' eyes, hardly ever breathing... There were not enough words in the world to describe what she saw in his eyes, this very instant, whether real or not... And just when she thought time had ceased to exist, she snapped awake when she saw him lean his head towards her out of nowhere.
Tick, tick, tick, tick...
Almost immediately, she put her hand on his chest to stop him from getting any closer, taking him fully by surprise...
"I'm sorry, I can't," she breathed, gaping back at his dumbstruck face.
It took him a moment to shake himself awake and make sense of what she'd said. "Of course," he muttered, feverishly running his hand through his hair. "Reckon I deserve that..."
"No, Sirius, it's just... It doesn't feel right."
"Never mind," he said, distractedly pulling out Remus's notes from his inner pocket. The awkwardness seemed to shake him right at his core while all Isabella could do was freeze on the spot and gape awkardly.
Looking up, he surveyed her constipated stance for a bit and questioningly raised an angry eyebrow. "Are you going to help me out, or what?" he asked scathingly, making her jump a little before hurriedly scuttling next to him. "Whoa, calm down! You don't have to be so mad..." she muttered under breath, making him glare even more unforgivingly at her. "Don't get cute!" he retorted.
The two of them quickly put their heads together and read the instructions in Remus's neat handwriting.
'The gloss of courage be not lost...
For Courage doth in our blood be caught.
True heir to the throne...
Be fair and right be known.'
"What does that mean?" Isabella asked, her eyes automatically falling on to the hundreds of shut wooden doors that lined the walls of the massive arena. And then her eyes fell to the stone floors that they were stood on. Right beneath their feet, at the very centre, were large markings of several concentric circles, spreading outwards from the core. And between each circle, were words carved on stone in an ancient tongue, older even than the Runes, she suspected.
"Look," Sirius said, pointing at the inner most circle that encased something that looked like a device with three more concentric circles made of pure gold with the tiniest hourglass wedged in the middle...
That's when she realised what it was...
"That is a tiny clock! An hourglass clock! Is that the heirloom we were supposed to retrieve?" she asked.
"Could be," he shrugged, his eyebrows knotted together in confusion. "It can't be that simple though. I mean, it's right there, jammed into the stone floor for anyone to just come and take it... Something does not seem right."
"Well, read the clue again, maybe we're missing something..."
"Gloss of courage... in our blood be caught...?" Sirius read the phrase over and over under his breath. "...be fair and right be known..." he said and stared at the veins that were popping out of his hands and paused as if he finally understood what it meant... "It takes the victor's blood to claim the treasure..." he spoke at last, making her turn sharply towards him.
"What?"
"The victor's blood should release the clock. But er... But the victor ought to defeat his enemy fairly. And with courage..."
"Sirius, it's actually easily pryable, look," she said, pointing at the gap between the smooth gold ring and the stone floor. "Let's just wrench it off the floor and get out here already... Perhaps not every kingdom believes in testing the meddler's patience, you know?" she said, making him smirk a little. Maybe it was that simple?
"Okay, try it," he said, although he still sounded mighty uncertain.
Isabella nodded before sighing nervously and pointing her wand at the floor. "Baubillious!" she screamed and a white, hot light shot out of her wand and slammed into the ground, instantly forming cracks on the stone floor.
BANG!
A deafening sound resounded around them, shaking both of them out of their wits! This was a mistake and it was too late to fix it! The whole place suddenly jerked awake, rumbling and roaring to life, almost as if a dragon has been awakened somewhere...
"Merlin's beard, I'm sorry!" shrieked Isabella even as a low roar resounded from a distant, sending an instant chill over them.
Without thinking, Isabella and Sirius drew their wands out, hardly breathing now—the worst was yet to come...
~oOo~
~oO 1 hour later...
Isabella saw James and Lily look up, startled beyond belief when they heard a loud CRACK! followed by the arrival of their two best friends, looking worn out and gasping for air.
"Sirius! Isabella? You two are back already?!" screamed Lily, abandoning a miserable-looking Peter and rushing forwards to meet them. "Oh, Izzy! what's happened to your hand?!" she shrieked even more loudly, grabbing her blood-stained hand up for a closer look.
"Too much to explain now," panted Sirius. "Let's just get out of here. Did Peter get what he was looking for?"
"No!" said Lily, almost close to tears now. "It looks like Hufflepuff's heirloom has already been stolen by someone else! What about you two? Find anything?" she asked, wiping her red face and muttering healing enchantments on Isabella's hand simultaneously.
Isabella paused nervously for a second. "Er... We took something that could pass off as an 'heirloom'?" she huffed, wincing and twitching in pain under Lily's healing enchantments.
"Whatever should that mean?!" bellowed James from next to Peter. It was then that Isabella saw the state of that boy: he was covered from head-to-toe in lemon-sized zits that were puffing and spewing tiny tufts of smoke and puss at the same time, making it almost too painful to watch!
"Later, James, we need to get Peter to the Hospital Wing right away!" said Isabella and beckoned at them to gather around in the middle of the blue, stone chamber. Without another word, James lifted Peter off the ground and rushed forwards while Lily levitated the Wiggentree case out of her bag. "You know the drill!" she said, at once, everyone slammed their hands on the glass case simultaneously. Isabella felt herself get squeezed into a tiny whirlwind once again, speeding forwards whilst bumping into her friends uncontrollably in a howl of wind and swirling color. Within seconds their feet banged against the hard wood of the ghost ship, with Peter still lying lifelessly in James's hands. The sea was still as calm as it had been when they had left this place, several hours ago, but the eeriness that existed despite the tranquility was enough to give Isabella nightmares for the rest of her life.
Peter spluttered and coughed uncontrollably indicating his situation was worsening by the second. "Hurry! Hurry!" James urged, while Isabella fidgeted with Lily's bag to find the final Portkey back. She wrenched the bottle out and within seconds, the group of teenagers were spat back into a dimly-lit, smelly room that eerily resembled the quarters of Argus Filch, Hogwarts's caretaker.
31st January, 1976
The four of them hit the hard floor and tumbled clumsily down to their knees even as the familiar scent of 'home' reached their nostrils. Isabella's eyes filled up instantly... Never before did she realise just how much she loved this place till that second. But before she could even catch her breath—
"—AHA! THERE YOU ARE! THE BUNCH OF MEDDLERS ARE BACK!" Filch roared, jumping up from his stool that was stationed right in front of his closed door, as if he had been determined to sit there till the end of time if that was the last thing he would do!
The five of them nearly jumped back in fear and scrambled up their feet, their nerves still jangling... Reality hit, and it hit them hard. Argus Filch was, without question, a BIGGER nightmare than all four Hidden Kingdoms put together!
"Oh, no," sobbed Isabella.
"But—But... Professor, we..." spluttered Lily, almost too terrified to even form words now.
"SHUT IT!" he screamed, making them jump out of their skin once more. Fear pulsed through their veins at the sight of Filch's malicious face, making them squeeze into a tight circle and hold on to each other for dear life—this was the most dangerous Filch had ever seemed.
"Oh-ho-ho! TODAY WILL GO DOWN IN HISTORY AS THE DAY I CAUGHT YOU FILTHY, BLOOD-SUCKING BUNCH OF SLIMY FIFTH-YEARS RED-HANDED! WITH PROOF!" he bellowed, reducing them to a globby mess!
"A-Argus, where's Professor Dumbledore?" James demanded bravely, although Isabella suspected he was secretly crying on the inside. "This was his mission, we had nothing to do w—"
"SILENCE!" he screamed, quivering ever so slightly in mad, contained joy. "I will decide what to do next, boy! And I know JUST what to do with you!" he laughed, placing one hand on the doorknob and one eye on the lot of them. "Oh, the trouble you've got yourselves into this time! Quite a stir it's caused, I must say!" he giggled delightedly. "Never before had the Ministry been involved in Hogwarts matters before, and you'd be delighted to know that the Minister is considering Azkaban for you miscreants! I won't be surprised if the lot of you are given the Kiss before the night falls!" he chortled heartlessly making Isabella's bottom fall off entirely!
A whimper escaped Lily's throat and the bunch of teens hugged each other tighter than ever. They were done for properly this time!
"Now, back up against the walls, ALL OF YOU!" Filch bellowed and shakily turned around to face the door, when suddenly—
BANG!
An explosion rumbled around them and entirely decimated Filch's door before sending him flying backwards, indicating just how fragile he really was!
Confusion set in immediately, when the five of them ducked backwards and crawled under Filch's desk to brace themselves from the splinter of wood raining on their faces. "Stay, close! Everyone!" yelled James, as he dragged a now unconscious Peter to safety too.
Isabella didn't know what was happening. All she could see through the smoke and dust were the faint outlines of two burly wizards standing on the other side of the door with their wands raised.
"Wha...? Who...?" spluttered Filch, but his words got drowned instantly by another blast from the shorter of the two cloaked wizards, who blew up more of the rock walls and widened the entrance to the tiny room. Before they knew it, they had stepped in, letting the dull light fall on their faces to reveal two extremely grim-looking wizards. Squawking and gawking, Filch gaped on as the two of them surveyed the company through their noses, instantly commanding fear and respect. They looked like they worked for the Ministry, perhaps directly under Madam Bagnold.
"Are these the outlaws?" asked the taller one. He had dark skin and spoke in a very heavy Scottish accent. His long, jet-black hair was loosely tied with a gold string and, in the dim-light, made him look more sinister than he looked.
Filch was quivering uncontrollably on the floor now. "I already told you, you have no authority in Hogwarts premises!" he spat out. "Now BE GONE! Both of y—"
But the wizard ignored him entirely. "Oramaex!" he called out to the shorter, stouter wizard, who stepped up at once in sophisticated Auror fashion. "Get the outlaws and report to base at once!" he barked out.
"HUSH! They are MINE! I get to present them to the Headmaster of HOGWARTS!" yelped Filch, his lower quivering uncontrollably.
Oramaex swiftly drew out his wand. "Step aside!" he bellowed pointing his wand straight at Filch's alarmed face. "You will NOT be warned a second time!" he called out crisply, his wand never lowering even for a second.
Filch's tremors were greater than ever now as he shook from head-to-toe in fear at the raised wand.
"You... You... You can't...! Dumbledore'd... Dumbledore'd never forgive ya...!" he spluttered, stammering more than ever. "These stu... Stu... Students... They're my r-responsibility!" he spluttered and almost put his hands out to shield them from the guards.
"For the last time!" yelled the taller wizard. "Hogwarts's Rule Book does not apply to outlaws! This matter concerns the Ministry, and falls straight under the Minister's directives! NOW STEP ASIDE!" he yelled once more.
But Filch refused to move. He was reduced to tears now and looked like he may pee his pants very soon, but his hand remained outstretched, steady as a rock as if he was making a point—all this without knowing a lick of Magic!
"They're my students," he whispered through quivering lips. "And you don't get to touch them without the Headmaster's permission!" he declared with finality.
The two wizards gaped in complete disbelief at the Caretaker's complete disregard to the Minister's directives.
"That's right," said a voice from behind, making everyone whip around in alarm. The two wizards whirled around fiercely, but their stance weakened instantly at the sight of Dumbledore standing tall at the entrance, his wand drawn out too.
The teens immediately jumped out from under the table and hurtled towards their Headmaster, with Sirius and James carrying the limp body of Peter on their shoulders. Giving them all one swift look, enough to deduce the intensity of their injuries, he turned back to the Ministry officials.
"Auror Drudalf and Auror Oramaex. We thank your assistance for staying guard at Hogwarts for the last thirty-six hours, but your services are no longer required."
"But...!" started Drudalf, flabbergasted at the very least. "It's in our directives to—!"
"Have Millicent owl me all about it," Dumbledore cut him most deliciously. "But from this second on, you no longer have permission to remain within one inch of Hogwarts soil," he said, pointing his wand towards the Entrance Hall for emphasis.
No one, not even Aurors in their right mind, would be so foolish as to stand up to Dumbledore, especially, Dumbledore with a wand. Drudalf was truly humiliated now, as he glared at Dumbledore with flaring nostrils. Given a chance, he would hex that calm smirk off of the old man's face this instant, but chose to bow out instead.
"Await dire consequences, Dumbledore," he said through gritted teeth before storming out of the broken entrance, closely followed by Oramaex.
Without wasting another second, Dumbledore turned towards the group of children. "James, take Peter and Lily down to the Hospital Wing, right away! Report back to my office as soon as you have briefed Madam Pomfrey of their injuries." Without another word, James hoisted Peter on to his shoulder before grabbing Lily's hand and speeding down towards the Hospital Wing. "The rest of you will follow me," he said to the others, before turning to Filch. "You did very well today, Argus! The staff and students of Hogwarts will forever be indebted to your bravery tonight," he stated with a smile, taking Filch completely by surprise. Before Filch could even splutter his thanks to Dumbledore, the old wizard had twirled on his heel and led Sirius and Isabella down towards his office.
Isabella was not sure what day it was, nor was she even aware of the time. She knew though, that it must be very late in the night, because they did not run into a single student and it was pitch black outside the windows. And even though there was not one person around to confirm her thoughts, she knew Filch was right when he said they had caused quite a stir, because it sure did feel like all hell had broken loose here in their absence.
The three of them mutely turned around the corner before coming face-to-face with the large gargoyle guarding his entrance. "Wine gums," he said and the gargoyle immediately came to life. Within minutes, the three of them were seated in absolute silence in Dumbledore's desk with their Headmaster looking grimmer than usual. Even Sirius had the sense to hold back his wisecracks at a time like this.
"How did it go?" he spoke at last, sounding more worried than anything else.
"Quite alright, Professor," answered Sirius. "We didn't succeed entirely, though... We managed to retrieve two of the four heirlooms. We're not sure if the one we stole from Woldorin is an actual heirloom and Hufflepuff's heirloom was already stolen when Peter got there," he summarised.
"May I see them?" asked Dumbledore. Isabella quickly rummaged into Lily's pouch and brought out the locket, the diadem and the hourglass clock and placed it in front of the old wizard.
He ignored the locket and the diadem and went straight for the clock. Taking it delicately between his long fingers, he examined it closely for about a minute while Sirius and Isabella sat in absolute silence. "Exquisite... Most exquisite..." he muttered, never once taking his eye off of the tiny golden artifact. "How did you manage to get your hands on this one?" he asked, finally looking up at the pair.
"Well... It was fixed right at the centre of a gigantic amphitheater, Professor," said Isabella. "If I am being perfectly honest, we didn't really look around much... We were exhausted to the point of dying, Professor—"
"—My dear, there is no need to drown in guilt of any sort, because I am quite aware of the task I sent you children on. So, I will not allow you to speak less of yourself at any point tonight," he said, looking at her deeply through his half-moon glasses. "However, I believe Sirius is right, though... This isn't one of Gryffindor's heirlooms and you wouldn't have found it even if you had spent searching every nook and corner of the castle and the kingdom."
"Why is that, Professor?" asked Sirius, which brought about a twinkle in the Headmaster's eyes.
"Because, the heirloom is bewitched to present itself to a true Gryffindor when they need it the most," he said and smiled at the bewildered expressions on their faces. "And that is the precise reason why no one has ever been able to steal the heirloom. However, that is not to say that all the efforts put to retrieve this clock here," he said, twirling it between his fingers, "is futile. In fact, I'd say this here is more valuable than all four heirlooms put together!"
"Why?" asked Isabella just as someone knocked on the door.
"Enter," said Dumbledore, eyeing his door eagerly even as a haggard James sauntered in and slumped into the chair next to Sirius.
"Because, this, my dear," he said, looking down at the golden object fondly, "this little object has played the most crucial role in helping the Gryffindors win all their wars consistently against the Slytherins for centuries. Without this, the Gryffindors would've been long defeated by their enemies."
The three of them exchanged glances. "What is it?" asked Sirius even as James collapsed on his left shoulder.
"It's a Time Turner," he said, that made even James's head spring back up in awe. "Every time they lost a battle, Woldorin's priests would gather around and analyse what went wrong to then, go back in time and correct them, which eventually ensured nothing but victory for Woldorin over and over again. That, perhaps, could also have been one of the greatest reasons why the Slytherins loathed the Gryffindors so very much. They knew something was wrong, but could never find out what really was wrong, prompting them to unleash their forces on the walls of Woldorin over and over again..."
A dead silence followed that comment, during which time James went back to resting his head on Sirius's shoulder.
"So, then, tell me Isabella. How did you manage to leave the realm with one of the most guarded objects in Wizarding history?"
"She slit her hand open, Professor," said Sirius, pointing at her crudely mended hand. "We used force to pry it off the floor. We didn't know it was going to awaken a guardian dragon! The whole place started to rumble and within seconds, we saw a gash on the floor."
"It was sleeping right below our feet, Professor," said Isabella. "There was no escaping that dragon... No one would've survived the fight... But then I remembered what the clue said. It asked the meddler to be brave and fair. And that courage runs in blood. That's when I realised I could exchange my own blood for the clock. So I slashed my hand and let the blood drip to the floor."
"And?" asked Dumbledore.
"Nothing... The dragon accepted the exchange. And we were free to go," said Sirius.
Dumbledore looked lost in thought and did not say anything for a long time. "Interesting," he said, still sounding slightly preoccupied. "Remind me to ask you a few more questions on this later tomorrow, Isabella," he said, looking slightly distracted. "As for you James, is Remus doing well?"
"Uh huh," he mumbled, not bothering to even lift his head off. "And so are Peter and Lily."
"Excellent. Very well done, then, all five of you," said Dumbledore, removing his glasses and rubbing his tired eyes. "I can go on for the rest of the night on how proud I am of each one of you, but I think it can wait. For now, your beds await," he said, pointing them politely to the door. When the three of them stood up graciously, he added, "In the Hospital Wing," he smiled.