During her unexpected visit to Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardary, British Army Major Marion Price, along with a quartet of students, and Groundkeeper Rubius Hagrid, learns that one of 2 survivors of a helicopter crash in the grounds is a KGB Security Officer….

'KGB?! You are joking!'

'I never joke about my work!'

'I can believe that!'said Price, before turning to Hagrid. 'We need to preserve as much evidence as possible from that helicopter. Could you try and secure that door back in the gap, at least temporarily?'

'Not a problem!'

'Thanks, Hagrid.'

As Hagrid, with Fang at his heels, lifted the helicopter's door back in place, Price turned to the teens. 'I don't suppose the Ministry has anyone who investigates air crashes?'

'I wouldn't have thought so' said Harry.

'What about Dad?' asked Ginny 'He's used to dealing with muggles and their technology!'

'Hang on' said Beckett. 'Surely he'd need special qualifications for something like this!'

'Exactly' said Hermione, before a thoughtful look crossed her face, 'but he'd be the perfect person to serve as a liaison between the Ministry and any air crash investigators!'

'Good thinking!' beamed Price.

'Are you sure?', asked Ron. 'Mum's going to have plenty to say about this as it is!'

As Hagrid and Fang rejoined the group, Kontarsky turned to Price. 'What exactly are Muggles?'

'Non magic folk,' replied Price.. 'Basically anyone incapable of performing witchcraft and wizardry'

'Why am I only learning about this now?'

'Well sir, for safety and security reasons, knowledge of the wizarding community is, for the most part, kept secret from the non magic world. Certain muggles who receive information about the wizarding world, on a strict need to know basis, are sworn to secrecy.

'Surely you'd appreciate that, sir' remarked Beckett, ' What with you being a KGB officer!'

'Exactly.' said Price, 'Right, next item on the agenda – medical check ups!. I assume that Madame Pomfrey isn't here at the moment?

'Not that I know of,' replied Hagrid. 'She's probably on her way here, after that crash - her house is only on the far side of Hogsmede Village

'In that case, we better get to the castle! If she doesn't turn up in the next hour, we'll have to try and arrange for us to travel to London, and get checked over at St Mungo's'

And with that, Price and Beckett led the group towards the main entrance of Hogwarts.

'St Mungo's?' asked Beckett.

'Hospital specialising in medical care for wizards and witches,' said Price, 'in the same way Great Ormand Street concentrates on caring for children.'

As Hagrid walked Fang back to the hut, Hermione turned to face Kontarsky with a puzzled look on her face, 'I thought the KGB was disbanded when the Soviet Union broke up at the end of the Cold War!'

Kontarsky's mouth quickly fell open. 'What are you talking about?'

'You mean you don't know?'

'Excuse my butting in, sir,' said Beckett, who realised the potential for the situation to rapidly escalate, 'but do you know what year it is?

'1982 of course! Isn't it?

'Sorry, Colonel,' said Harry, as Hagrid rejoined them. It's actually 1996.'

'Seriously?,' sighed Price. 'I thought it was 2023!

'What about you?' Kontasky asked Beckett. What year do you think it is?'

'Don't ask - I've sort of lost track! One of the downsides to being a full time, professional time traveller!'

'Time traveller?'

'Yes, sir. You see, I theorised that a person's lifetime could be compared to a ball of string, with one end representing birth, and the other representing death. Tie the ends together, and you get a loop. Ball the loop, and all the days of your life touch each other, theoretically allowing someone to leap from one day to another in their own lifetime, by using a device called a quantum accelerator.

'Go on.'

Well, we were getting ready for the initial tests, when news came through that our funding was about to be pulled, due to lack of proof regarding my theory, so I stepped into the accelerator and activated it.'

'Well, obviously, it worked.' said Price, as the entrance finally came into view.

'Not entirely! When I woke up, I found my consciousness had swapped places with that of a 1950s US Air Force test pilot, whose face looked back at me from the mirror, and my memory had more holes then a hunk of Swiss cheese! I had to get Al to tell me who I was and what had happened!'

'Who's Al?' asked Kontarsky.

'My old observer, Rear Admiral Alberto Calavici (Retired). He used special equipment back at base to interact with me, in the form of a hologram that normally only I could see and hear.'

'Normally?'

'During certain leaps, we learned that the observer's hologram was also visible to animals, those close to death, people with specific forms of psychological impairment, and children under 5. Through trial and error, we eventually realised that, in order for me to leap out, I would need to put right something that had previously gone wrong.'

'Well, don't hold your breath waiting for this Al to show up,' said Price. 'Technology doesn't work here, due to the high levels of magic in the area, so he may not be able to establish a connection.'

'Actually, I haven't had any contact with him, or anyone else from the project, for quite a while, which has left me in limbo, at least until I ended up on board that helicopter, right before the crash.

By now the group had reached the main double door, which suddenly flew open, to reveal a hunchbacked with a horrible, pouchy, pasty face, bulging, pale eyes, sunken, veined cheeks and long hair with a bald spot on the top of his head. He wore a brown coat with black trousers, brown waistcoat over a faded greying shirt, and black boots.

'Oh boy!'signed Beckett, as the man quickly stepped forward, eyeing the group suspiciously.