This is one of those things I've been planning for a long time and that felt like I'd never get to. Glad to be finally going over it.

~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~

~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~

Harry knew his immediate priority was to get out of a potentially high traffic area and find some place to hide where no one would see him for the next hour – including himself. Fortunately, he knew just the place. Unfortunately, that place was seven floors up on the other side of the castle. Sneaking around under his invisibility cloak at night was one thing; doing so in the middle of the day was something else entirely.

The other thing he had to consider was Ginny. Had Hermione's Time Turner somehow affected her, too? He doubted it. For one thing, he knew it had already been used once before and nothing had happened to him. Arithmancy would have been Hermione's second nine o'clock class of the day, after Diviniation, meaning when he parted ways with her she was preparing to go back one more time to attend Muggle Studies. This seemed to indicate that whatever affect the Time Turner had on him, proximity was an issue. If he wasn't around Hermione when she used it, nothing would happen. That had to be the case for Ginny, too. Didn't it?

But why had this happened, proximity to Hermione or no? As far as he knew, Time Turners only affected people who were wearing them. He'd even had to drape the chain around his own neck along with Hermione when they'd used it together all those years ago. What was happening?

The obvious variable was that he himself was from the future. If there had been any lingering doubt in his mind about that, it was gone now. This was time magic being wonky, plain and simple.

He'd managed to creep his way over to the great marble staircase, but now he hesitated. Was the Room of Requirement really his best option? So many things could happen between here and there. Sure, most people would be in class at this time, but not everyone. Should he take secret passageways? It minimized the chances of someone in the corridors hearing him, but most of them were quite narrow, and should anyone else be using them it would be very difficult to get out of their way.

Changing his mind, he turned and headed for the front doors. They were still open. There would be an Herbology class right now that people would have just walked down to, and the weather was still pleasant enough that Filch would not feel the need to close them.

Once outside, Harry clung to the walls of the castle but broke into a trot. He just wanted a secluded space where he wasnt likely to run into anyone. Not at five past nine in the morning, in any case.

He sat quietly for nearly the whole hour. Finally, at three minutes to ten, he felt safe moving back toward the front doors. He entered the castle right as the bell was ringing, meaning his past self had just disappeared or was just about to. He no longer had to worry about being seen. His primary concern now was simply making it to class on time.

To his surprise, he was actually one of the first to arrive. Hermione was already there. He hoped she didn't remember that he'd supposedly set out before she had.

'Hi, Harry!' she greeted a little too cheerfully. 'I ended up taking a short cut. I didn't expect to beat you here, though.'

Harry relaxed. Judging by how fast she was talking, and how flushed and fidgety she was, she was hoping he wasn't looking too closely into her arriving first despite staying behind after their previous class together.

'I got waylaid on my way here,' he said, offering her an out. 'Bloody Peeves.'

'Oh, he's just awful, isn't he?' she replied, the tension in her shoulders easing ever so slightly.

They spent the next few minutes abusing Peeves, until the rest of the class spilled in all together at nearly the last second, looking distinctly out of breath.

'We got lost!' Ron said, plopping down next to them as everyone else found seats. He seemed to notice whom he was talking to.

'Hang on,' he said to Hermione, 'how'd you get here so fast? Didn't you leave with the rest of us?'

'I - '

'Maybe she's just got a better handle on the layout of the castle,' Harry said, saving her. She'd looked like a rabbit frozen in a car's headlamps.

Hermione looked simultaneously immensely grateful to be rescued, and curiously suspicious about why Harry would bother to do so. They would definitely have to have a conversation later. If this was what it was like on the first day, there was no way they could continue like this all year.

Professor McGonagall called the class to order before anything else could be said. She began a lecture on animagi, which Harry was sure he'd never heard before. It might have come in useful when dealing with Sirius and Wormtail at the end of the year.

She transformed into her tabby cat form, with its spectacle markings around its eyes, but only Harry seemed to have noticed, and as he'd seen it a number of times, he couldn't properly fake being overly impressed.

'Really, what has got into you all today?' she asked them, staring around the room. 'Not that it matters, but that's the first time my transformation's not got applause from a class.'

Everyone seemed to be looking at something, but nobody spoke. Everyone except Hermione, that was. She was clearly still preoccupied wondering what he might have figured out about her Time Turner situation.

Finally, Lavender raised her hand. 'Please, Professor, we've just had our first Divination class, and we were reading the tea leaves, and –'

'Ah, of course,' said McGonagall, frowning. 'There is no need to say any more, Miss Brown. Tell me, which of you will be dying this year?'

Of course! Harry thought. It would be foolish to assume Professor Trelawney would not be up to her usual theatrics simply because he wasn't there.

'Me,' said Neville miserably. Harry winced. Why did it have to be Neville? The poor bloke was under enough pressure already; he didn't need any more stress.

'I see,' said Professor McGonagall, fixing her gaze on Neville. 'Then you should know, Longbottom, that Sybill Trelawney has prodicted the death of one student a year since she arrived at this school.'

Is it always the same? Harry wondered. Always a Grim in the tea leaves? Or does she mix it up?

He supposed that if she were doing it for her own amusement, it would have to be at least slightly different every year in order to not grow boring.

'You look in excellent health to me, Longbottom, so you will excuse me if I don't let you off homework today. I assure you that if you die, you need not hand it in.'

Seamus laughed. Hermione seemed focused again – no doubt having her feelings about Divination backed up by McGonagall put her in a better mood – but not everyone was convinced.

'What about his cup, though?' he heard Parvati whispering to Lavender.

The rest of the class went on as usual, though when they got to the Great Hall for lunch Ron seemed preoccupied.

'What's the matter?' Harry asked him.

'Oh, it's just...Neville's tea leaves,' Ron said.

'Oh, for heaven's sake,' said Hermione, punctuating her works by placing her goblet down on the table a bit too forcefully, causing pumpkin juice to slosh everywhere.

'Hermione, it wasn't just some random death omen...it was a Grim. Those are...well, most people are scared out of their minds about Grims. My Uncle Bilius saw one and died twenty-four hours later!'

'Coincidence,' said Herimone dismissively.

'I can see why it might bring up bad memories, though,' said Harry diplomatically, trying to signal to Hermione that she could perhaps be a bit more sensitive, even when being rational.

'Well okay then,' she said, 'but Divination seems very wooly to me. Seems an awful lot like guesswork.'

'Professor Trelawney said you didn't have the right aura! You just don't like being rubbish at something for a change!'

That touched a nerve.

'If being good at Divination means I have to pretend to see death omens in a lump of tea leaves, I'm not sure I'll be studying it much longer! That lesson was absolute rubbish compared to –'

She cut herself off abruptly, looking toward Harry with an expression that could very possibly be described as "panic", and left the table in a huff.

'Do you think I went to far with that last one?' Ron asked.

'Maybe,' said Harry. 'Don't worry about it, though. And don't worry about Neville. If McGonagall's right, she does this every year and nothing ever happens. Maybe he's just getting a new pet for Christmas.'

'Heh. Right.'

'I'll go on ahead, see if I can't cool Hermione down. See you outside, yeah?'

'Huh? Oh, yeah, all right. See you.'

Ron went back to his lunch and Harry stood and followed Hermione out of the Great Hall.

She was standing at the front doors, evidently having decided to wait for them before heading down to Hagrid's.

'Harry, I...' she began, but he cut her off.

'Listen,' he said. 'I already told you, if you don't want to tell me what's going on, fine. Or maybe you can't for some reason; I don't know. But whatever it is, you're being awfully sloppy.'

'I was hoping you and Ron would have the same schedule; it would have made a lot of things so much easier,' she mumbled pitifully.

'Sorry about that, but based on what I'm hearing about Divination, not that sorry,' he said. He managed to get a small smile out of her for that.

'It's not that I want to keep secrets from you both...' she started again, but trailed off.

'But you have to. Okay, I get it. Whatever it is, it's a secret. You don't have to tell me what it is, but I can still help cover for you without knowing what I'm covering for, right? Pretend I don't notice anything?'

'You'd do that?' she looked hopeful, the way a drowning person might look when someone showed up in a boat.

'Of course. What are friends for? I wouldn't want you to get in trouble if it's supposed to be kept a secret. But...a bit of advice? Whatever you're doing? Maybe in future, do Divination last.'

She laughed, wiping away the beginnings of tears.

'Yeah.'

~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~

The walk down to Hagrid's was much more peaceful than it otherwise might have been. Ron and Hermione clearly still remembered their spat in the Great Hall, but at least they were speaking to each other. And they were bound in solidarity when they discovered – as Harry had of course already known – that they would be sharing the class with the Slytherins.

Hagrid greeted them all cheerfully, and took them around behind his hut and along the edge of the trees to an empty paddock. One that would soon be filled with hippogriffs.

'Now, firs' thing yeh'll want ter do is open yer books,' he announced.

'How?' drawled Malfoy disdainfully, even as everyone from Gryffindor began following Hagrid's instructions. Harry smirked; he had shown them all the trick to it that morning before leaving for breakfast, the result being Malfoy and everyone from Slytherin now looked foolish.

'Jus' do what they're doin',' Hagrid said, indicating the Gryffindors. 'Stroke the spine and it falls righ' open. Look.' He took Crabbe's book and demonstrated. 'Now then, time fer the creatures. Turn ter page seventy-five; I'll be righ' back.' He strode off out of sight.

'God, this place is going to the dogs,' said Malfoy loudly. 'That oaf teaching classes, my

father'll have a fit when I tell him about this.'

'Says the bloke who can't figure out how to open a textbook,' said Harry casually. A few of the Gryffindor's laughed; Malfoy's face twisted in anger.

'Hippogriffs!' Hermione gasped excitedly. She was, predictably, the first one to have turned her book to the correct page.

'What?' asked Ron, leaning over to look at her book while flipping though his own pages.

'Ooooooooh!' squealed Lavender, pointing toward the opposite side of the paddock.

Indeed, a dozen of the half-horse, half-eagle creatures were trotting along, each at the end of a long chain fastened to a collar around its neck, the other ends being held in Hagrid's enormous hands as he jogged along behind them.

The class drew back slightly as Hagrid urged the creatures forward and eventually tethered them to the fence near where they were all standing. It had been a while, but Harry was sure he recognized Buckbeak within the herd.

'Hippogriffs!' Hagrid roared happily. 'Beau'iful, aren' they?' There were mixed reactions to this sentiment.

'So,' said Hagrid, rubbing his hands together. 'If yeh wan' to come a bit nearer...'

Harry approached without hesitation. Ron and Hermione followed him, perhaps a bit more cautiously. After a few moments, the other Gryffindors too a few tentative steps forward as well. The Slytherins stayed put.

Hagrid went on to explain the importance of respect regarding hippogriffs. Harry noted darkly that Malfoy and his goons were not paying the slightest bit of attention. Much as he though Malfoy was bringing his upcoming comuppance upon himself, he knew what it would eventually do to Hagrid and Buckbeak, and so had resigned himself to stopping it. Honestly though, would it kill Malfoy not to be a petulant, spoiled berk for five minutes?

Hagrid explained about proper etiquette and bowing, and asked for a volunteer. Harry offered to go first, knowing nobody else was likely to.

There was some murmuring about him being brave (from the Gryffindors) or a show-off (from the Slytherins), but nobody said anything as he climbed over the fence and Hagrid presented him with Buckbeak.

Hippogriffs were old hat for Harry at this point. He bowed respectfully to Buckbeak and waited, then Buckbeak bowed back. There was a round of excited muttering from the rest of the class, who immediately turned tense again when Harry stepped forward to pat the hippogriff's beak. The class broke into applause (except for Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle, of course).

Naturally there was no talking Hagrid out of "letting" Harry ride Buckbeak, so he went along with it. It was as uncomfotable as it ever was, but it did bring back happy memories of rescuing Sirius, so it wasn't all terrible.

The whole class cheered when he landed, again with the exception of Malfoy and his cronies. (Harry had the distinct impression that Crabbe and Goyle would have been cheering too had Malfoy not been there).

The rest of the class now climbed the fence and began approaching the hippogriffs. Harry stood back with Hagrid to watch.

'Keep an eye on Malfoy, Hagrid,' he warned. 'I don't think he was paying attention when you explained how important respect was.'

'Good thinkin' Harry,' said Hagrid. 'Last thing we'd need, eh? Lucius Malfoy's son gettin' hurt in me first lesson?'

As before, Buckbeak had bowed to Malfoy, who was now casually stroking the animal's beak.

'This is very easy,' he drawled. 'I knew it must have been if Potter could do it...I bet you're not dangerous at all, are you, you great ugly brute.'

It happened in a flash, but Harry and Hagrid were both ready. Harry dashed forward and yanked Malfoy backward by his robes, and Hagrid came to stand in front of the now furious hippogriff, still rearing and brandishing its talons, and glaring daggers at Malfoy with its bright orange eyes.

'Whaddya think yer playin' at, Malfoy?' Hagrid bellowed angrily. 'Firs' thing I said was to never insult a hippogriff. Yeh tryin' ter get yerself sent ter the hospital wing? Ten points from Slytherin! Calm down, Buckbeak. He ain't gonna badmouth yeh no more.' He pulled hard on Buckbeak's chain, forcing the still angry hippogriff back under control. Several of the Gryffindors were trying to hide their laughter from Malfoy, who was still sprawled in a rather undignified manner on the ground.

'What do you think you're playing at, Potter?' he yelled angrily, hoisting himself up. The humiliation at being upbraided by Hagrid in front of everyone was clear in the flush color on his usually pale face.

'You're welcome,' Harry answered. 'Those talons look sharp; I didn't reckon you wanted to be slashed open by one.'

'I didn't ask for your "help",' Malfoy snapped, dusting himself off.

'Lucky you I'm just the helpful type,' said Harry. 'But I was doing myself a favor, really. If you'd been injured too badly, you might've missed the first Quidditch match, and then they might have flown someone who can actually catch a snitch.'

Malfoy's face got, if possible, even redder. He stalked away from Harry angrily and stood fuming with Crabbe and Goyle for company. Pansy Parkinson had flitted over to make sure he was okay, but he must have snapped at her to go away, or else she was really enjoying the hippogriffs, because she was back with the group less than a minute later. As they were technically in class, Malfoy was forced to stay for the rest of it. He (perhaps understandably) had no desire to go anywhere near the hippogriffs again, so had to listen to Hagrid explain their diets and habitats from outside the paddock fence.

Harry learned a lot about hippogriffs that hour that he'd never known. Just how much had his whole class missed out on that year as a result of Malfoy shattering Hagrid's confidence? He was actually excited – no, interested; "excited" was the wrong word – to see what else Hagrid had planned for them. Nothing could be worse than a year of flobberworms.

Except the skrewts. But that was next year.

~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~

'That was really interesting!' said Hermione on their way back up to the castle. 'Hagrid really knows a lot about hippogriffs, doesn't he?'

'Reckon that's why Dumbledore gave him the job?' asked Ron sarcastically.

'You know what I mean, Ron. He did a really good job! I was nervous for him. He's never taught before, and it's not exactly easy, is it? True, maybe hippogriffs are a bit much for a very first lesson, but everything went all right, didn't it?'

'Thanks to Harry,' said Ron. 'Can you imagine what it would have looked like if Malfoy had been mauled on Hagrid's first day? In his first class? Hell, the bloody twat would milk it for all it was worth, too.

'Ron!' Hermione scolded.

'Hermione, if I'm not allowed to swear when talking about Malfoy...' Ron said, trailing off before resuming his previous train of thought. 'Probably get his father involved, try to get Hagrid sacked, and whatever other trouble he could cause.'

She shook her head, either in amusement or exasperation; Harry couldn't tell.

'Ron's right though, Harry. You probably saved Hagrid a lot of trouble.'

'I had a feeling Malfoy would do something stupid,' Harry said. 'I saw him talking to Crabbe and Goyle when Hagrid warned us never to insult a hippogriff.'

'And Hagrid took points from him!' Ron said, practically cheering. 'Oh, this day just got so much better.'

They didn't have another class after Hagrid's so Hermione said she wanted to go to the library.

'I promised Cornfoot a chess match today, so I'll be down there in a bit,' said Ron.

'Suppose I might as well come along, then,' said Harry. 'I've got no plans.' What he really needed to do was talk to Ginny about what had happened with the Time Turner that morning, but that wasn't something that could be done in the middle of the day.

'Come get your set, Harry,' said Ron. 'You and Moon can have a game.'

'You know Natalie would rather just watch,' Harry told him.

'She plays sometimes. It's been all summer!'

'Oh, all right, fine,' said Harry. 'Save us a place, eh, Hermione?'

'You know I'm going in there to work, right?' she asked them, but she didn't sound very bothered.

'What work could you possibly have?' Ron asked in disbelief. 'It's our first day!'

In lieu of an answer, she just shook her head, waved, and walked off.

'I swear, if it wasn't for us, she'd never have any fun at all,' said Ron.

'You might be right, but I think she might also have a different definition of "fun" from ours,' said Harry.

Ron shook his head again and turned to head upstairs. Harry at once felt a very uncomfortable feeling in his stomach.

What the hell? What is she doing?

Thinking quickly, Harry whipped out his invisibility cloak and threw it over himself while Ron wasn't looking. It wouldn't do for him to be seen disappearing. The bad portkey feeling was soon joined by the same spinning, squeezing sensation he'd felt that morning. A moment later, Harry found himself once again in the entrance hall. A group of students – probably including himself – were on their way down to Hagrid's hut.

Why always here? He wondered in his frustration. Is it just because this is where I was an hour ago? Why do I never see Hermione here?

His second reason for throwing on his cloak had been that he'd had no idea where he would end up and how many people would be there when he did. He was glad he'd had the foresight. He was also glad (though not too glad; he was still somewhat nauseous) that the pulling and squeezing sensations were there to warn him what was about to happen. From his experience, the effects of the Time Turner were supposed to be instant and painless. Was this because he was being dragged along as an afterhtought against his will? A fish caught in a net that was pulled wherever the boat was going?

Knowing that going outside this time was a bad idea – he was much more likely to come across his past self out there – he headed for the Room of Requirement despite the risks involved. He made sure to hug the walls and quiet his footsteps as much as possible. Every time someone walked by he would freeze in place until they were well past him. He was being so careful that it took him the better part of twenty minutes to get up to the seventh floor. However, before he made it to his ultimate destination, he caught sight of something that stole his attention away completely.

Ginny?

She was walking – stumbling, really – down the corridor in the direction of Gryffindor Tower, using the wall for support. Without thinking, Harry whipped off his cloak and hurried over to her. It took her a moment to even register that he was there.

'Harry?'

'Ginny, are you all right? What's wrong?'

'Why aren't you in class?' she asked.

'I'll explain later; do you need help?'

'If you could let me lean on you, I bet you could get me back to the common room faster than this wall,' she said. Of course he had no objection. She transferred her weight to him, wobbling only slightly, and together they made much better time to the portrait of the Fat Lady.

'Fortuna major,' said Harry. It was fortunate that the Fat Lady's job was not to judge them for not being where they were supposed to be, but merely to open and let them in.

There were a handful of older students in the common room, no doubt enjoying a free period, but they were all minding their own business and didn't even look up when a third year and a second year came in.

He led her to an empty sofa in an unoccupied part of the room. She sat gratefully.

'Thanks, Harry,' she said.

'What happened?'

'I don't know. I just felt...lightheaded all of a sudden. And a bit queasy. And my brain feels all foggy; it's hard to concentrate.'

'When did this happen?' he asked, concerned.

'Just at the beginning of class. Second time today. Flitwick let me go. I probably should have gone to Madam Pomfrey, but I didn't feel like being prodded. I just want to lie down.'

'You say this is the second time today? Are you coming down with something?'

'I don't know,' she said. 'It's not that time of the month. I would have noticed that. Besides, this isn't normal for that anyway. It's weird. It feels like I'm being pulled two in two different directions by something. Not hard enough for it to be painful, just enough to cause me problems.'

'Do you need anything?'

'Just to lie down. It went away after about an hour this morning. I'm hoping it does again. If it doesn't, I'm going to have to see Pomfrey whether I like it or not.'

'I can stay with you if you like,' he said. For a while, anyway. I should make sure to leave before Ron gets here.

'Aren't you supposed to be in class?' she asked again. 'I wouldn't have thought you'd miss Hagrid's first lesson.' She jerked up (then immediately regretted it), as something dawned on her. 'Malfoy! Buckbeak! Harry, you were supposed to –'

'Don't worry; I am in class. It's taken care of,' he said.

She looked at him as if he'd grown another head. He cast wordlessly cast muffliato before continuing, just in case.

'Harry, don't try to confuse me; my brain already feels like it's stuffed with cotton balls. What are you talking about?'

'I'm not entirely sure,' he said honestly. 'Only that I'm out there, and in here. Hermione's Time Turner seems to have some unintended side effects.'

'What?' she asked. Her face was scrunched up, trying to make sense of what he'd said. Whatever was afflicting her must really be affecting her concentration if she couldn't follow that.

'I was standing too near Hermione when she used her Time Turner and I got sent back in time too,' he explained plainly.

'How is that possible?' she asked.

'No idea. My best guess is she somehow got her time magic mixed up in our time magic. It's like one of those unexpected reactions Slughorn always used to talk about in potions. Mix two things that have never been mixed before and you have no way of knowing what'll happen. And the more unstable the ingredients, the more volatile the reaction. I've a feeling Time magic isn't supposed to be played around with for a reason.'

'At least we can be one hundred percent certain we're dealing with time travel, then,' Ginny said. 'I know we'd mostly settled on that anyway, but it's nice to have a kind of confirmation.'

'Yeah, this pretty much settles it,' he agreed. 'Still no idea how or why of course, but it is at least one load off the mind.'

Harry sat with her for the next half hour. Her condition didn't improve, but she said she wasn't feeling any worse, either. Eventually he had to get up to go so that he could come back up with Ron.

Time travel is weird, he thought as he left throught he portrait hole and put his invisibility cloak back on. He made straight for the Room of Requirement, and once there, he took his cloak off and asked the room for an exit to the corridor right behind where he'd left Ron an hour ago – or rather, where he'd be leaving Ron in five minutes.

A long staircase appeared at the back of the room, descending into the lower floors of the castle. He hurried his steps, not wanting to be late and cause suspicion. At last he reached the bottom of the staircase. He asked the room for the same type of carved stone vents near the ceiling he'd once used to eavesdrop on Filch talking to his cat.

'You know I'm going in there to work, right?' he heard Hermione ask.

Oh, shit.

So intent had he been on getting back into position to avoid Ron noticing anything amiss, he'd neglected to consider what had put him into this predicament in the first place. If he were just as close to Hermione as before when she traveled back in time, would he not get caught up in it again? He couldn't afford three of him roaming around the castle.

As fast as he could, Harry dashed back up the stairs, taking them two, even three at a time. When enough time had passed and he didn't feel a lurch in his stomach, he reasoned he was safe, and began climing back down. He was flush and breathing heavy. Well, nothing he could do about that.

'Harry?' he heard Ron calling. 'Where'd you go?'

I need an exit around the corner from Ron, he thought desperately. The room obliged. He dashed out of it and shut the door behind him. It vanished instantly. He sat on the floor catching his breath.

'Harry?' Ron called again.

'Over here, Ron,' he called back. Ron reemerged from around the corner, looking perplexed.

'There you are,' he said. 'I swear I just walked by you. What's going on? You all right?'

'I just felt dizzy for a moment,' he said. 'Might be the adrenaline from Hagrid's lesson wearing off; I don't think I ate enough for lunch.' He'd made up less plausible things on the fly; hopefully Ron would buy it.

Ron looked concerned.

'Should we stop by the kitchens and get you something to eat?'

'I've got some snacks stashed in my trunk,' said Harry, who actually was feeling a bit hungry, now he thought about it. 'They'll hold me until dinner.' He wanted to get back up to the common room and make sure Ginny was okay.

When they got to the common room, she was sitting right where he'd left her, though looking much better.

'Would you mind getting my stuff, Ron?' he asked. 'I just want to sit down for a minute.'

'Sure, mate. What do you feel like eating?'

'I think I've got some pumpkin pasties in there,' he said. 'Bring me one of those if you would. Thanks.'

'No problem.' Ron headed off up the spiral staircase and Harry sat down next to Ginny.

'What was that about?' she asked.

'Not important,' he said, waving her off. 'How are you feeling?'

'Fine,' she said, and she sounded and looked it, too. 'One minute I felt like a rope in a tug-o-war, the next minute perfectly normal. It went away as suddenly as it came on, just like this morning.'

Something clicked in Harry's brain.

'When did you say you felt like this earlier?'

'First lesson of the day. From around nine to around ten. Same thing; here one second gone the next. Weird, eh?'

'I didn't mention before that this was the second time I got dragged back in time today,' Harry said, giving her a significant look. Her eyebrows furrowed; she caught on right away.

'Let me guess; the first time was from nine to ten?'

'Right in one.'

'Wonderful. Well, that's one mystery solved and about three new ones that need answers.'

'We don't know the two things are related,' Harry attempted. She raised an eyebrow and gave him a look of such incredulity that he felt physically cowed.

'Okay, you're right; they probably are,' he admitted. 'But how? Why? What the bloody effing hell is going on?' The frustration of two years not knowing anything about how they came to be here or who sent them or why caught up to him and burst out all at once.

'I have an idea,' said Ginny, 'but it's going to have to wait. Ron's coming back.'

Harry looked over. Ron was indeed emerging from the spiral staircase carrying his chess set, Harry's, both boards, and a couple of pumpkin pasties. Harry felt guilty for asking him to fetch all of that when there was nothing really wrong with him.

'Thanks, Ron,' he said. 'I only need one pasty; you go on and eat the other one.'

'Are you sure?'

'Yeah. Just need to get my blood sugar back up, that's all.'

'If you say so,' said Ron, and tucked into the second pasty. 'Wanna come play chess in the Library, Ginny?' he asked between bites.

'Thanks for inviting me but no,' she said. 'I've got plans with Luna this afternoon. You two go have fun.'

When they arrived in the library, it was to find Stephen and Natalie waiting for them with Hermione, who had several books and scrolls laid out all over the table around her. Far more than she should have if she'd just gotten there a few minutes ago.

Harry felt like hanging his head and sighing. Did she go back in time an hour so she could work on homework before hanging out?

As soon as he asked himself the question, he knew the answer. Yes. Of course she had. It was the most Hermione thing imaginable.

He and Ginny were going to have to be very careful around her this year.

~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~

~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~

~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~

For once I don't have anything to say here. Please leave a review with your thoughts. Thanks for reading and hope you're enjoying it!