Author's Note: Hello everyone. I apologize for such a long hiatus, I didn't mean for it to take this long.
One of my good friends and fellow fanfic writers on this site recently passed away, so I was dealing with that plus my college stuff. He was actually the one who introduced me to fanfic and writing as a whole, so it stung quite a bit.
Moving on from that though, this will be the last chapter before the winter break for Harry and the gang. Was planning on a few more chapters so as to build them more but have decided against it.
Anyway, that's all for now. Enjoy the chapter!
Edit: Hopefully this fixes the formatting. Thank you to everyone who mentioned it.
.
"Well, at least he doesn't give us as much homework," Ron was saying as he, Harry, and Hermione reached the bottom of the stairs.
Hermione huffed slightly. "That's not a good thing, Ron. Homework is meant for us to practice what we learn."
"Not like you need any more practice," Ron mumbled. "You're always up super early to work."
"Because I need to get the knowledge in, Ron," Hermione shook her head.
"Yeah, but Thanatos explains it well enough," Harry added as they headed over to the Great Hall. "We don't need as much homework."
"But imagine how much better we could do if we had more practice," Hermione insisted. "I'm not saying Professor Marime is bad, I'm just saying I think we could use more practice with Transfiguration."
Ron shook his head. "Y'know Hermione, you might be the only person who wants more work. Why can't you just be happy you're not being overworked?"
"I wasn't being overworked," Hermione replied, slightly annoyed.
"You did seem pretty frazzled these last few days," Harry pointed out. "You even fell asleep during History of Magic a few times."
"I was just worried about you!" Hermione hissed a bit low. "That had nothing to do with our classwork."
Harry went to respond before he paused, an odd feeling that Hermione was lying washing over him.
He gave her an odd look, his brows furrowed.
'Where the hell did that come from?' He wondered.
The trio entered the Great Hall, with Hermione and Ron still in a half-argument; not bad enough for a full-blown row, but getting there.
"Hello, Harry," Luna said as she appeared beside him.
Harry jumped slightly. "Ah- Luna, don't do that!"
Luna stifled a giggle and shook her head. "You should be more observant, you know? Thanatos always tells us that."
Harry sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I know, just a bit tired."
Luna smiled and pulled a small bundle from her pocket.
"Here, Aahna told me to give this to you," She said, handing him the bundle.
"Hm?" Was Harry's response as he took it, untying the knot at the top.
A dark ring sat in the middle, an emerald embedded in its center with silver engravings on both the gem and ring.
Harry blinked, being able to actually feel the power ebbing from the ring, and even vaguely tell the difference between the wards on it, though he could only tell if they were defensive or not.
"Thanks, Luna," He said with a smile, putting on the ring.
A familiar shield formed at the back of his eyes, though even Harry could tell it was much more refined than the first one Thanatos had given him.
Luna held up her right hand, showing off a similar ring on her finger.
The ring had a silver band with a deep blue gemstone in the center, and gold engravings on both it and the ring band.
Power ebbed from it, and Harry idly wondered how Luna saw them, given her Mage Sight.
"Oh, they're quite beautiful," Luna told him brightly. "The colors blend so nicely, it's like a rather gorgeous night sky."
Harry flushed a little, not realizing he'd said that out loud.
"And speaking of," Luna said, pulling out her wand. "Aahna told me that we can talk to each other using the rings."
She tapped the ring with her wand, and both rings grew warm on their fingers.
'I'm not quite sure how it works, though,' Luna's voice sounded in his head.
"Woah!" Harry did a double take, stepping back a bit with wide eyes.
Luna looked similarly shocked, her bright blue eyes wide in a way that made her resemble an elf quite a bit.
"Was that… Legilimency?" Harry asked slowly.
Luna gave a slow nod and tentatively tapped her ring again.
'Hello?' Her voice rang again.
'Yeah… I can hear you,' Harry replied, gulping a bit.
For some reason, that kind of connection felt oddly intimate, having Luna able to enter his mind so easily felt… off.
'Oh, I can't actually ENTER your mind,' Luna told him, sounding somewhat relieved. 'I can only talk to you apparently, and vice versa. Or at least, if we can enter each other's minds, I don't know how.'
Luna tapped her ring again, and Harry felt something akin to a door closing in his mind as his ring cooled.
Harry shook his head, throwing off the odd feeling he had.
"Hey, do you…" Harry paused as Luna made to leave.
"Hm?" Luna tilted her head at him, pale blonde hair falling in a wave, the light from the windows and ceiling making it shimmer.
He gulped a little, his neck feeling uncomfortably warm.
"You could eat with us if you want," Harry said, rubbing his neck as he gestured to the Gryffindor table.
Ron and Hermione were already seated, with Ron staring at him oddly, and Hermione nose-deep in a thick textbook.
Luna's expression was unreadable for several seconds before she nodded, face blossoming into a smile.
Hermione looked up as Harry and Luna sat down, her brows furrowing as she saw Luna.
"I thought students weren't allowed to sit at the other tables?" Hermione asked, her voice oddly sharp.
"That's only for feasts," Luna answered pleasantly, helping herself to a sandwich.
Hermione made a noise of recognition before turning back to her book.
Harry shot an odd look at Ron, who sighed.
"She's mad because I said she can't do everything," He told Harry.
"I'm not trying to do everything, Ronald," Hermione snapped scathingly, looking dangerously close to throwing the book at Ron.
Ron's ears went red. "Bloody hell, you would've thought I cursed your mother or something!"
Hermione flushed and slammed the book closed, turning to Rom angrily.
"Maybe I wouldn't be so upset if you stopped looking at me like I'm a mirror and treating me like I'm incompetent!" She hissed, face red.
Ron looked baffled, and Harry took a moment to understand what she'd just said, though Luna's eyes widened immediately.
"Wha— I—" Ron stammered, his face as red as his hair.
Hermione went to respond but stopped as Aahna put a hand on her shoulder.
"Miss Granger, please come with me," Aahna said, making everyone including Luna jump a little; they hadn't even seen her get up from the table.
Hermione went pale but got up without a word, letting Aahna guide her out of the Great Hall, a hand on Hermione's back.
Aahna stopped as the Great Hall's doors closed behind them, taking Hermione to the side.
"Hermione, before you say anything, you're not in trouble," She began immediately.
Hermione's face went through a myriad of emotions, ultimately settling in confusion.
"Is this about our last exam?" Hermione asked, though even she didn't sound confident in that possibility.
Aahna shook her head. "No. Look, I know McGonagall gave you the Time Turner, and I know you've been using it a lot lately. I wanted to give you some advice."
Hermione went to respond but stopped, remembering that Aahna was an Unspeakable; if anyone would know, it'd be her.
Aahna put a hand on Hermione's shoulder, and the girl immediately felt several days of exhaustion and stress leave her body.
"Oh— that's…" Hermione gasped, her body relaxing significantly. "Can you teach me that?"
"Sorry, Hermione, can't. Too much use leaves your muscles weak and loose, and affects your magic too," Aahna shook her head. "Maybe once you have O. ."
Hermione's eyes widened. "Oh Merlin, I just insulted Ron so badly!"
Aahna nodded. "That's why you need to use that Time Turner to get more sleep and rest. I hope you're not just using it for classes?"
Hermione flushed vividly. She had, in fact, been using it just for classes and homework.
"Get more sleep, just because your magic can offset some of the effects of sleep deprivation doesn't mean you should push it," Aahna stated, feeling as if she were telling this to Thanatos for the thousandth time again.
"But I thought you could only use it for 5 hours per day?" Hermione asked. "That's what McGonagall told me."
"McGonagall isn't an Unspeakable," Aahna grinned before pulling a potion from her robe.
It was a tiny bottled potion, only a few ounces of dark purple liquid, but it swirled around like liquid gold, and Hermione could tell it was a delicate potion just by looking at it.
"Look, I cleared this potion for usage, so you won't get in trouble if caught with it," Aahna told Hermione. "Actually, I made it, but that's beside the point. Don't show it off to anybody unless you absolutely trust them."
"What is it?" Hermione asked as Aahna gave her the potion.
"I call it Liquid Time," Aahna answered. "Speeds up bodily processes and recovery and allows you to extend the use of a Time Turner to double its normal amount with just a drop. But it also knocks you out like a light after a few minutes."
"Use only a drop per day and rewind the Time Turner to its maximum, you'll get a full 8 hours of sleep and feel much more refreshed."
Hermione stared at the bottle, and Aahna knew the question before Hermione asked it.
"No, you can't use it to study more," Aahna stated with some amusement. "It doesn't work that way. Use the Time Turner normally to study and then use the potion to get some sleep."
"Can't I just use the potion?" Hermione questioned as she stored the potion securely in her robe.
"You could, but you'll sleep the full 8 hours regardless of how much time you actually have to sleep," Aahna replied. "Also, don't use more than one drop, no matter what. If you do, you risk messing with your body's perception of time, and that… well it gets nasty."
Hermione nodded gratefully before she bit her lip.
"Can I use it now?" She asked. "I haven't used it at all today."
"Go ahead," Aahna said. "Rewind the full 10 hours though, just in case. Sometimes you oversleep a little the first time taking it."
Hermione nodded eagerly and bolted up the stairs, leaving Aahna shaking her head in amusement.
"How was it?" Aahna asked as Hermione came running down again after a minute.
"Best sleep I've had in weeks," Hermione beamed, feeling much more energetic than she had earlier. "Even if I had to sleep outside my dorm to avoid myself."
"You should set up a system with yourself," Aahna suggested. "If you're going to stay up late to work, and later turn back time to sleep, make sure you set it up where you know what your future self is going to do. It's much easier that way."
"Aren't we not supposed to see ourselves?" Hermione's brows furrowed.
"Usually, yes. It's because seeing yourself might change what your past self does, resulting in a paradox. But if you already know what you're going to do and when, then nothing will change," Aahna answered.
Hermione asked a few more questions about time travel, and Aahna answered most of them, though she flat-out refused to tell Hermione how to make more of the potion, or even what ingredients were in it, just that it was harmless.
Hermione eventually re-entered the Great Hall with a much happier demeanor, slightly surprising Ron and Harry.
Luna just tilted her head, able to see the time magic surrounding Hermione, though she didn't recognize the odd purple energy lacing it.
"You ok, Hermione?" Harry asked as she sat down again.
"Oh, yes, I feel lovely," Hermione replied, beginning to pile food on her plate.
Ron gave her an odd look and shook his head, grumbling under his breath.
Hermione nudged him with her arm. "I'm sorry for what I said, ok? I was just stressed and Professor Marime gave me some tips to help."
It wasn't technically a lie, but Harry still had the feeling Hermione was hiding something for some reason he couldn't pinpoint.
However, the weirdest part was that Hermione knew that subconsciously, just by looking at him she knew it. How she knew it? Not a clue.
It was something that'd actually begun rearing its head more and more as time went on, and Hermione was beginning to grow somewhat worried.
First, the knowledge of Harry hiding stuff about Sirius, then of Harry hiding stuff about Dumbledore, then of Harry hiding stuff about Thanatos and Aahna.
More recently, Hermione knew that Ron was slowly gaining a crush on her, and she knew she didn't reciprocate the feelings at all, not at the moment at least. Hermione knew who she had a crush on, and it wasn't Ron.
But she also knew Harry didn't view anyone in that way, and that Harry now wasn't remotely the same person from the beginning of the year.
Hermione knew all of this, yet she had no idea how she knew it. It was like an instinct, something subconscious telling her these things.
She didn't even truly study anymore, all of the knowledge seemingly appeared in her brain before she laid eyes on the page. It was only advanced textbooks that escaped this, and even then, she was understanding them far faster than she should.
Hermione felt her knowledge come to her so easily, and was half-tempted to ask Harry for that tome again, but she knew that it wasn't a good idea right now.
It honestly worried her, since none of the books she'd read described anything remotely similar. The closest was a spell to help you retain information better, often used for languages and such, but Hermione didn't have that spell on her (she'd triple-checked).
It was a nagging feeling in the back of her head, and for the first time in her life, Hermione actually felt burdened by what she knew.
She sighed internally as Harry and Ron laughed at some comment Luna had made, who was actually quite a fun person despite her eccentric personality.
Whatever it was, it would be alright. She knew that.
.
Author's Note: Ok, a bit rushed and slapped together, but its done!
Bit of a short chapter I know, I apologize. Next chapter should be much longer, I promise.
Laid what I have planned for Hermione on pretty thick here, just to kind of build it up quickly. Hopefully should tie in well.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and I'll see you in the next one!