"So, he knows about you now?"
Hermione nodded silently. Dumbledore sat behind his desk, stroking his brown beard. She just told him about the latest development, leaving out the kiss and all the other positive interactions between them. There was no need for her professor to know how intimate their relationship had become by now. He probably suspected more of it than he should anyway.
"You have amazing rhetorical skills, Miss Granger," Dumbledore said slowly as he folded his hands on the table in front of him, "It is not easy to fool Tom about anything. The fact that you have been able to present him with lies several times and he actually believes them is impressive. You are sure he believes you, aren't you?"
She swallowed. "Well, absolute certainty I don't have, of course. But I think I can see through Tom quite well by now. And he seems to make less of an effort to hide his emotions from me, too."
"Why do you think that is?"
Dumbledore looked at her stoically, but it was precisely that disinterested expression that made Hermione wary. So, she was indeed right: he suspected something about her relationship with Tom, something he did not like. The fact that he did not ask her directly about it, and even appeared so unimpressed, told her quite clearly that he did not trust her. She could not blame him. The things she did together with Tom were simply repulsive and evil. She was no longer a good person, not for a long time. But there was no need to tell him any of it.
She forced a smile onto her lips and shrugged. "I don't really know either. Maybe ... maybe it's just the fact that I didn't buy his clean-cut image from the start? I met him with open dislike and hatred from the beginning. That has changed in the meantime ... because you also thought it would be wise to get close to him. But because of that, Tom gave up quite quickly trying to wear that mask in front of me."
She tilted her head thoughtfully. What was actually the reason that Tom seemed to become more and more open each time? Sure, he was still cruel and possessive towards her. But therein lay the mystery. He seemed unconcerned about what she thought of his viciousness, on the contrary. It almost seemed at times as if he wanted to impress her with his particularly bad character traits.
"When I first met Tom at the orphanage, I expected to find a shy, sad boy," Dumbledore began suddenly. His voice sounded sad as he recalled his memories. "The orphanage's management prepared me for the fact that he did not get on well with the other children. Young wizards sometimes have trouble controlling their magic, and so inexplicable things happen around them when no one knows magic exists. I figured that something like that must have happened from time to time and that's why he was an outsider. Maybe also a child who was afraid of himself. Instead ... Tom had taught himself to control his powers, at least to some extent. He was not afraid of the other children. The other children were afraid of him and he knew it. He provoked that. It wasn't long before he accepted as completely natural that he was a wizard. I came to the orphanage prepared to feel involuntary pity for the boy. When I left, there was none of that left. Instead, I was determined to keep an eye on him so he couldn't harm other students at Hogwarts."
Hermione nodded unconsciously to herself. That coincided with what Harry had told her about the memories. At the time, she agreed with him that it had been impressive and clever of Dumbledore to have already realised how dangerous Tom might one day become after a single conversation. Although he was to be proved right in the end, she was not so sure now. Carefully, so as not to seem accusatory or deluded, she said, "Maybe Tom just wants a person he can be open in front of? A person he doesn't have to pretend in front of, but who doesn't judge him for who he is either? I mean, I already judge him for it and he also knows the extent of my contempt very well. But ... he now has reason to believe that deep down I am like him. That I just don't have the courage to admit it. That's why ... maybe that's why he shows me all the evil that's inside him? To ... to convert me?"
Dumbledore's eyes lit up as if he was proudly admiring a masterpiece. "You have an outstanding grasp, Miss Granger. Tom admitted to me that he could make others feel pain and fear. I involuntarily reacted to this with severity and told him I would not tolerate it. At Hogwarts, he never let anything like that slip again, but instead was a perfect, well-behaved model student. Apparently, my reaction was a warning to him never to show that side to anyone again. Until you came along."
Hermione struggled not to feel sorry for Tom. It must have been horrible for him, growing up in an orphanage where everyone hated him. And then, finally, someone comes along to tell him that he is special, that they understand him - and then he also gets a telling off straight from that person, barely opening up completely. Reluctantly, she shook her head. His circumstances were tragic, certainly, but that did not change the fact that Tom had already been born with a sick psyche. Not every wizard who did not know about his gift as a child and grew up as an outsider became a stone-cold mass murderer because of it. She herself was living proof of that. Or Harry.
Sighing, she ran a hand through her hair. "I will never fully understand Tom's inner workings. But I will try to find out at least a little more. What you told me today was very helpful, I will think about it more thoroughly. Perhaps I can take advantage of it."
"Do so," Dumbledore agreed with her. Then, with a surprisingly nimble movement, he rose from his desk and motioned for her to follow him. He led her to a small side room of his office, which was crowded with shelves. A small nugget of gold gleamed in one of them.
"I took the liberty of storing the time turner that brought you here," he explained as he gestured for her to step closer. She stood beside him to get a better look at the molten pile. Hardly anything reminded her that this had once been one of the most powerful, rare magical items. The light falling on it from magical orbs on the ceiling made the gold shimmer brightly, but there was nothing left of its form.
"I have spent the last few weeks with my colleague subjecting this time turner to all sorts of magical tests," Dumbledore explained. "The results are amazing. It is really fortunate that I had spontaneously decided to keep it. In fact, there is still a spell on this time turner."
Surprised, Hermione looked up at him. "How is that possible? It's completely destroyed, isn't it!"
"It has lost its form, yes, but it is not the matter itself that has been destroyed. In magic theory it is always said that a spell is bound to the form of an object. For example, the invisibility of a cloak of invisibility is tied to its form as a cloak. The spell only works because it is a cloak."
She nodded vigorously. "Right, that's what we learn at Hogwarts. Magic theory is a complex matter precisely because a spell is always focused on a particular form in conjunction with its matter. I've never heard of something losing its form completely without also losing its magical abilities. Certainly, with the right spells one can transform a magical object into another, but this always requires a special spell so that the originally cast magic can adapt to the new form. But pure destruction ..."
Carefully, Dumbledore took the gold from the shelf and motioned Hermione to return to the desk. Irritated, but curious, she obeyed the request. Dumbledore also took his seat again and then leaned forward to place the gold between them on the desk.
"What are the three main goals of alchemy?"
Even more confused than before, Hermione stammered, "The three goals? Er ... if I remember correctly ... to create Panacea, a universal medicine that cures all human ailments. Then ... to turn any metal into gold. And finally ... mh ... some kind of universal acid? A material that can dissolve any other material? I don't see what that ..."
Smiling, Dumbledore raised his hand. "As expected, you know about alchemy. Your answer is absolutely correct. Think about it, what does it take to be able to turn any metal into gold?"
Wide-eyed, Hermione stared at him. "If I knew that, sir, I would have invented such a spell long ago."
Dumbledore laughed softly. "I don't mean that exactly. What is needed on a very theoretical level?"
She still did not understand what any of this had to do with the time turner, but she trusted Dumbledore that it would make some sense. For a few minutes she thought in silence. Then suddenly, she understood. "Matter. You have to transform matter, and you have to do it permanently and stably."
A satisfied smile spread across his face. "Absolutely correct. So, who knows matter and magic like no other?"
"Nicolas Flamel," Hermione breathed. "This is the colleague you consulted with?"
"I see you know all the people I consort with," Dumbledore stated with amusement, then nodded in confirmation. "That's right. I asked Nicolas for advice. Of course, he couldn't help me immediately either, but the investigation of the gold has brought many interesting results to light. Among other things, we found the traces of a charm that ensures that the gold does not lose its magical abilities, regardless of its form. And do you know what interesting observation Nicolas made in the process?"
Hermione could only stare open-mouthed. Such a discovery was simply unimaginably valuable. If it had been discovered, why did they not know about it in the future?
Dumbledore, registering her staring silence, continued, "The charm was invented by Nicolas himself. Every wizard who creates his own spells has his own signature. Like a handwriting. And Nicolas is sure he recognised his own."
This new information took a moment before it broke through the clouds around Hermione's mind. Too many things were going through her mind right now, but after processing what Dumbledore said last, she shook her head in confusion. "That ... that's not possible! That would mean that Flamel is only inventing this spell because he has already seen part of it. That is ... that is paradoxical. How can he invent something that he can only find because an object from the future, which he himself manipulated with the invented spell, found its way to him? If he had never seen the object, he would never have invented the spell, then the object would not exist!"
Seriously, Dumbledore looked at her. "Time is a linear entity. And that is why it is binary. When an event occurs, all the consequences of that event necessarily always occur. If an event does not occur, all consequences necessarily do not occur. This means that this time turner always finds its way into Nicolas' hands if he has succeeded in inventing the spell. If he does not succeed in inventing the spell, your time travel does not take place and he will never see the time turner. It follows: If your time travel takes place, Nicolas will necessarily invent the spell. If your time travel does not take place, he will necessarily not invent it."
"But that's ... that's circular reasoning!" retorted Hermione still confused, "If Nicholas Flamel doesn't invent the spell, my time travel doesn't take place. If he invents it, my time travel will take place. If you take your statement and delete the double sentences, then we end up with ... If Flamel invents the spell, he invents the spell. Or also, if I do the time travel, I do the time travel. That's ... that's nonsense! These statements have no meaning! They are not even statements because they don't say anything!"
Everything began to spin in her head. Why was time travel so complicated? Why did she not understand all this? Where was her mistake?
"Miss Granger," Dumbledore interrupted her softly. "Look. As I said, time is linear and binary. Nicolas invented the spell in 1944 and cast it on this object. That's why you were able to time travel. And that is why he has now got hold of the time turner again and can invent the spell again. We are in a time line where both the spell was invented and your time travel took place. If Nicolas can't invent the spell again now, your time travel will never be able to happen and the time turner will never be able to land back here and end up in Nicholas' hands. Look at it this way: as long as your time travel takes place, there is always the possibility that Nicolas will invent the spell - or not. But if he fails to do it once, there will never be the possibility of time travel by you again. And so it is with everything that conditions time travel: Everything we have to do this year to make your time travel possible in the future either succeeds or fails. If everything succeeds, you will travel back into the past and it will again be an either-or. However, if it doesn't succeed, it will never succeed again and it will never be an either-or again."
That made marginally more sense, but Hermione sensed that something was still beyond the grasp of her mind. Resolutely, she leaned forward and rested her hands on the table. "Whether I really understand the principle of time travel or not, that's not important right now. Tell me more about the time turner, please."
Dumbledore hesitated only briefly, then launched into another long explanation. "As we have already surmised, there is a Confundus charm on the time turner, and a charm to strengthen the material. Also, the aforementioned charm that allows the other two charms to bind to its matter regardless of form. Still, it is obviously the case that it is always destroyed in the process of time travel. Obviously, there is no way to prevent this, no matter how strong the buffs we cast. It is further the case that it is absolutely essential that the time turner is not destroyed and the Confundus remains after you have arrived here. The magic of a time turner does not end when you have arrived at the desired point in time, but only when you arrive back at the original starting point. As long as you are in the past, the magic of the time turner is active. So, if the Confundus charm should stop in the meantime - for example by the destruction of form and matter - the time turner would immediately switch back to the mode of sending the time traveller back hours and not years. In other words: If the time turner gets changed with a Confundus, but it ends as soon as the journey back in time is completed, you would immediately travel back in time again, to that point in time that was originally the corresponding number of hours back from your starting point. Which means in your case, about two days before the moment you entered the chamber."
Hermione had never thought about this before, but now that Dumbledore was explaining these connections to her, it seemed logical. "If I understand this correctly, the time turner magically always counts the time you spent in the past until you came back? As if it reverses the turns of the little hourglass, but at an adjusted rate?"
"Exactly. In this state, a time turner cannot be used again either. As long as it still has turns to reverse, the hourglass cannot be turned again," her professor continued in his explanation. His eyes were sparkling, as if he enjoyed talking about this, not thinking about the maybe deadly consequences for her if they got this wrong. "Now for the actually important part of these findings. Our current plan is as follows: Theoretically, your time travel should end instantly when the Confundus is lifted. Any spell can be cancelled with a Finite, an extended form of which is the Finite Incantatem. According to our theory, the moment I cast the Finite, you should land back in 1998, since the Confundus stops and the time turner then automatically sends you to where you should have landed in the first place."
"That means I'd have to wait in the chamber for two days?" echoed Hermione in horror. She did not like the idea of having to wait it out in the wet, dark chamber next to the corpse of a basilisk.
But Dumbledore shook his head. "That doesn't necessarily have to be the case. Possibly the inner, magical counter of the time turner is confused by its almost year-long stay here and you arrive at the exact moment you started, because for it, the entire hours have already expired. If not, you would actually have to hold out in the chamber for forty-three hours. We should prepare you for that, but for now hope that you arrive at the exact same moment."
Slowly, Hermione nodded. "That would be ideal, of course. And what about the time turner? I have to wear it around my neck for the spell to send me back, don't I?"
Again, Dumbledore shook his head. "No. The magic will affect anyone who touched the time turner during time travel, whether they still touch it afterwards or not."
Thinking hard, Hermione cocked her head. That sounded almost too easy. But then she remembered her third year at school: she had travelled back together with Harry, but after they had arrived, she had taken the necklace off him again and worn it alone. Still, they had stayed in the past together and ended up back at their starting point together.
"So, it's staying here?" she asked timidly.
"Yes. After the Finite is cast, it is up to me and Nicolas to repair the time turner, implement the magic transfer spell using matter, and then cast the strengthening and Confundus charm. And then I have to store the turner so that you can find it one day."
So many conditions. So many things that could go wrong. Slowly it dawned on Hermione how insane this plan had been from the start. But if there were two men in the world she trusted with these magical achievements, it was Dumbledore and Flamel. She simply had to put herself in the hands of these two powerful wizards and trust them to fulfil all these conditions. For the moment, at least, it looked like she had found a way home. A way back to Harry and Ron. Back to the battle against Voldemort.
Now it was up to her to find a way to stop the future Tom Riddle once and for all. She looked at Dumbledore with grim determination. He had already done so much for her. Now she would show that she could do her part as well.