This is one of my favorite chapters. I've been waiting to write this chapter for a long time. Here we go. :)

Frodo could see shapes appear… bluish white light… was his father there with him… did Drogo Baggins ever have a white-tailed eagle as his patronus? These were questions that needed to be answered…

"Frodo," it was Aria's voice. She was okay, wasn't she?

"There was a patronus. It was my dad, wasn't it?" Frodo asked.

"Your father's patronus was a Caspian red deer," it was Everhart's voice. Yes, Frodo could see him in the room. Everhart continued. "Very powerful creatures. Deers. It suited your father well."

"Well, if it wasn't that deer then, what?" Frodo moved off the hospital bed. For sure, he was in the hospital wing. And yet, Everhart was present. "How are you not – I mean –"

"Captured." He replied. "I am not a threat to this school. If I were, then I would have been taken to the prison cell, same as Sirius Black. But I have not once set off in Azkaban."

"So, you're innocent," Aria said. It was the first time Frodo saw her arms bandaged up good. She must have gotten the rest she needed and the time to heal. However long it took for the medicine to work.

"Where's Sam, Merry and Pippin?" Frodo asked.

"They're outside the hospital wing." Aria told him.

"I see you're awake then," Everhart spoke to Aria. "Good. Then we can begin to find the winged horse that keeps lurking about the castle." He told both Frodo and Aria. "Yes. That is the second reason why I have come. The reason I was restricted access to the castle was under my sentence that Dumbledore used, but now that the winged horse has escaped, we may need more time to catch him."

"More time – more time –" Aria understood. "Oh, that's right. The Time-Turner."

"Time-Turner?" Frodo asked. "What time-turner? What are you—"

"I will wait outside and – three turns should do the trick. Yes. I will return to the hospital wing in a few minutes." Everhart said. "Tell me how it goes. Bye!" He closed the doors after him, leaving Frodo and Aria alone.

"I'm sorry for the secrecy, Frodo. It's how I've been getting to my classes all year," Aria said, revealing the gold hourglass necklace.

"What are you—" Frodo asked, just as Aria threw part of the gold chain around his neck. With three turns, and him nearly attempting to touch the hourglass pendant, Frodo's gaze watched as the night turned back to daytime. Wait… what had just happened? And where were everyone else? He nearly forgot Harry and Hermione, but then… where was everybody? "What's going on?" He hardly notice Aria moving the chain off of him and back underneath her shirt. "Aria, what did you do?"

"It's the time turner. We've gone back in time. Here, I'm guessing we've just reached the entrance hall," Aria said.

"So, we have gone back in time," Frodo said, starting to understand… sort of… what was going on.

"Frodo, let's go. We're wasting time and we don't want to be seen by our earlier selves," Aria said, bolting off. Frodo chased after her, determined not to lose her or any chance of returning to the appropriate time.

Lucky for them, hardly anyone noticed them. Until… Frodo bumped into Aria, only to see their previous selves heading past the doors. What were they looking for?

"The winged horse. We saw it just now," Frodo said.

"Yes. We need to find the winged horse, like Everhart said," Aria said. "Come on. We'll lose him."

Frodo helped Aria past the door. He slowed down as he and Aria neared the winged horse. Their earlier selves heading towards the Whomping Willow. But that was not what they were here for. They needed to convince the winged horse they were safe. Slowly, very slowly, the two friends approached the dappled-grey horse. He clicked his hooves and his teeth together, unsure whether to trust the hobbit boy and the girl.

Frodo raised a hand, in an effort to calm the horse down. But Merry knew about horses more than he. How was he to get the horse to trust him? By chance, the horse was able to trust him, and yet his gaze fell to Aria, who was trembling.

"Come on. It's all right." Frodo said. "He won't hurt us."

"Our earlier selves didn't know he was safe," Aria said, reaching slowly towards the winged horse. "He likes us."

The winged horse whinnied gently.

"Will you let us ride you? There's someone else who wants to see you later this evening. Everhart Boffin," Frodo told the winged horse.

The dappled grey horse neighed a little, before moving to a resting position. Frodo grinned, satisfied that things were starting to work out. He turned his attention to Aria, helping her onto the horse's back. Frodo followed behind her, mounting the winged horse. At the ready, the winged horse stood up and flew into the air, as if it knew where it wanted to go. The horse eventually stopped in the Forbidden Forest, right as Harry and Hermione saw them approach. Frodo and Aria climbed up the slope, joining the two. The four friends looked back at the winged horse and Buckbeak, who were enjoying each other's company.

"I see they like each other," Hermione said.

"Yeah," Harry said.

"Frodo, what is it?" Aria asked the hobbit teen.

"Aria, if it wasn't my dad I saw in the forest. Then what… what was it?" Frodo asked her. "Aria, you're an author. Surely you must know that whatever I saw… it can't be a coincidence."

"Frodo, there are some things even I can't tell. Some things we just learn for ourselves," she said.

"That's very cryptic," he said.

"What would you want me to say?" Aria asked.

"Well…" Frodo was cut off by a scream. He stood up at the same time as Aria, but a little after Harry and Hermione charged off. Should he follow them? But what about… no. Everhart. He took Aria's hand, leading her into the forest.

And there they were: the dementors. Surely there was something he could do. Was his father coming? No. His father wasn't coming… it was him. He saw himself. He had to save his earlier self and Everhart from the dementors…

"Frodo, wait!" Aria cried.

"Come on. I can do this, this time. Just once…" Frodo opened his eyes. Bluish-white light poured out from his hands. It was powerful, so powerful that he drove the dementors away. And there was his patronus come to see him. A white-tailed eagle. He reached for it, hoping to touch it, but it faded. Only to bring his attention back to Aria, who smiled at him.

"Frodo, that was advanced magic. You conjured a patronus. A white-tail eagle," Aria said. "I told you there were some things you could find out for yourself."

"I had it in me," Frodo said, also smiling.

"Yes, but Frodo, we need to return to the hospital wing. We can't let anyone know we're missing," Aria said.

"Right," that snapped Frodo back to reality. "Let's go surprise Everhart."

-.-.-

Flying on a winged horse was a good experience. Frodo hadn't flown on a winged horse before, and yet Aria was trembling. He wrapped an arm around her briefly, before returning his hand to the winged horse's mane. Eventually, the winged horse reached its destination: the courtyard before the hospital wing.

Now Frodo and Aria had to hurry to reach the appropriate time they were in the hospital wing.

"See you later," Aria told the winged horse. "And surprise Everhart when you can."

"Come on," Frodo said, leading the way.

Frodo hadn't flown so fast up the stairs. There was no time left. They had to reach the hospital wing in time. Right after Harry and Hermione entered the hospital wing. The doors shut behind them. Dumbledore was gone. Frodo, leading the way, brought himself and Aria back into the hospital wing, seconds after their past selves were gone.

Ron was shocked.

"Where the – how did you two get over there?" Ron asked Frodo and Aria.

"Don't know," Frodo and Aria said.

"Well, it's a long story. Let me tell you," Aria said.

Frodo stifled a laugh. It felt so good to be at the appropriate time. He looked back as the doors opened, with Everhart entering the hospital wing.

"Did you two do it? Is the winged horse safe?" Everhart asked. He was welcomed by a whiny from just outside the window. There was the winged horse, neighing at him. Everhart jumped for joy upon seeing him. "Yes! There he is. Dapple-green. My trustful companion."

"Dapple-green," said Ron, Harry and Frodo in unison.

"Of course," Everhart asked, "What else would you name a dappled grey steed?"

Hermione couldn't stop laughing. It was the best laughter she had in a long time. And she wasn't alone, for Aria smiled in the first time in weeks. Frodo shook his head. Typical… but maybe he was glad to see Aria and Hermione so happy for once. They needed it. They all needed this happy moment. And it felt good. That's what mattered most, or so Frodo thought. It was good to be back at the right place, at the right time.