Hello, dear reader!

This is my first fanfiction so I'm glad for any critique and reviews I get. Special thanks to bingbong3110 and lorddevblack for helping me. I've gotten a lot of help from the Haphne Discord Server (discord gg/pKSdvJQvhU).

Thanks for reading my story!

Chapter I.

James Cyrus Potter was never up to anything good. Currently, he found himself exploring his father's office, a place, where if caught he'd be in a lot of trouble - a lesson James had learned through experience. The first time, he was lucky when it was only Teddy who caught him, and with his parents away, he managed to more or less get away with it. The second time, however, he was rather unlucky as his mother caught him. Needless to say, the consequences were severe; two weeks of grounding, no broom, and no cloak and map. Though he didn't mind much, spending two weeks in his room wasn't exactly his idea of a good time. He decided that he'd better get out and return to his room before Teddy or his siblings found him here, but as he turned something caught his eye. On a shelf was a small, golden shining object. Inspecting it further, he realized that it was an old time turner.

"Awesome!" James excitedly picked up the time turner and inspected the shiny object in his hands. The potential for pranks using it seemed endless. However, his thoughts were abruptly disrupted by a familiar voice.

"James! Where are you?" He heard Teddy's call from just outside the door. Panic set in – James had no escape route and couldn't risk being caught once again. The last time Teddy caught him, he might have escaped with just a scolding, but this time Teddy would undoubtedly tell his mother. And everyone knew how strict Daphne Potter could be.

Without another thought, he shoved the golden object in his pocket and tiptoed toward the door. Leaning in, he pressed his ear against it, ensuring Teddy wasn't there anymore. Satisfied with the silence, he opened the door swiftly, slipped out, closed it soundlessly, and was about to make his getaway when a voice stopped him in his tracks.

"James, what were you doing in Uncle Harry's office? We both know it's off-limits for you," Teddy caught him and maintained a stern look, awaiting an explanation that James struggled to come up with. Faced with a lack of words, he did the only logical move – to make a run for it.

Surprisingly, James managed to outrun Teddy, but he made a mistake as he sprinted toward the living room. Just as he was about to enter, he collided with his sister Lily.

"Ow! James, what the hell!" Lily exclaimed, pushing him off her. Once she regained her footing, she shot him a deadly look that could have been lethal if glares had that power. "What's got you in such a hurry?" she demanded. At that moment, Teddy arrived on the scene.

"James Cyrus Potter, you're in a lot of trouble, buddy. What were you doing in Uncle Harry's office anyway?" Teddy asked James with a frown, as he was looking after the kids when his uncle and aunt were away. The Potters always treated him like family. When he was ten years old, his grandmother Andy couldn't raise him alone anymore. Until that point, his Uncle Harry had only visited on weekends, spending time with his godson. However, he eventually took Teddy in, raising him as one of his own. Since then, Harry had been a father figure, just as his Aunt Daphne had become a mother figure. After being raised by them, Teddy assumed the big brother role for the Potter kids, becoming the one to babysit whenever Harry and Daphne were out.

"I've found this," James said, presenting the time turner he had in his pocket. Lily looked curious, but Teddy immediately grew alarmed upon recognizing the golden item.

"James, listen: that is very dangerous," Teddy carefully warned James as he approached, holding his hand out. "Carefully give it to me." James hesitated, glancing between Teddy and the time turner in his hand. "Nah. Hey Cal, catch!" James tossed the time turner to his brother across the room. Charlus, who was simply watching the others, was caught off guard as the time turner crashed onto the floor in front of his feet, breaking into millions of glass shards. Before anyone could react, thick violet smoke emerged from the now exposed sand within the object, enveloping them. When the smoke cleared, nobody was there anymore – only the scattered pieces of glass and the sand remained as a trace of what just had happened.