Although the Time-Turner in Hermione's possession was undoubtedly the easier one to obtain, Caryll had never considered going after it before.
Perhaps it was because Hermione, like him, was often isolated by most of her fellow Gryffindors — making him feel a sort of kinship with her.
Perhaps it was out of jealousy and resentment toward Wade, since Wade had been his initial target upon entering Hogwarts. Even though his goals had shifted over time, he never considered changing his target.
But now, he had no better option. Any lingering sympathy or kindness felt unnecessary.
While the Auror chuckled at the misfortune of the ink-soaked students, Caryll greeted her casually, as if nothing was amiss: "Hermione, didn't you go to Hogsmeade today?"
"I was planning to," Hermione replied dejectedly with dark circles under her eyes. "But I still had two books left to finish."
She glanced curiously at the tall adult wizard beside Caryll, then looked back at her classmate with growing concern.
"I heard you invited Wade over to your house. Why are you back so early?"
"Something happened," Caryll replied vaguely, putting on a look of sorrow and lowering his head.
"I… I have to leave Hogwarts. I'm going to the dorm to pack my things…"
He said it as if he were choosing to withdraw from school. The Auror glanced at the young offender, then at the girl who was clearly a well-behaved student, and kindly chose not to expose the lie.
As expected, Hermione asked with concern, "What happened? Are you in trouble?"
Caryll shook his head, unwilling to explain further, and pleaded in a fragile tone:
"Could you do me a favor, Hermione? Parvati borrowed a book from me. She probably left it in the dorm. Could you help me find it? I… won't have another chance to return here again."
"Of course. What book?" Hermione said without hesitation. She swung her bag onto her back, cleaned the ink spots from her clothes with her wand, and turned to walk toward the common room with Caryll.
"It's a book about time travel, called The End of Eternity. Have you read it?" Caryll casually named a book.
"Oh, of course! That's Asimov's work. I finished it when I was seven," Hermione replied. "But I don't think Parvati has that book…"
"Maybe she tucked it away somewhere. You might need to look around a bit."
"No problem."
The Auror: "…"
Aren't you supposed to be retrieving a keepsake left by your parents? Who lends a keepsake to someone else?
Then again, maybe he just wants to spend a bit more time with a girl he likes… And since this is his one chance to pack, wanting to bring everything he could is understandable.
The Auror closed his mouth and silently followed the two of them.
When they reached the entrance to Gryffindor Tower, the Fat Lady in the pink dress asked, "Password?"
"Lion's Roar," Hermione answered.
The portrait swung open.
The entrance to the Gryffindor common room was a hole behind a portrait—not very spacious. Caryll naturally stepped back to let Hermione go in first, then crawled in after her.
Just as the Auror at the rear was about to climb through, the portrait suddenly slammed shut.
"You're not a Gryffindor student," said the Fat Lady, narrowing her eyes and looking down at him suspiciously. "What are you trying to do?"
"I'm an Auror from the Ministry of Magic. I'm in charge of supervising that boy who just went in…" the Auror began, then realized mid-sentence that he was trying to explain himself to a painting.
Sighing in frustration, he patted his forehead and said, "The password is 'Lion's Roar,' right? Please open up."
"Fine, the password is correct,"the Fat Lady grumbled.
She grudgingly opened the portrait again, and the Auror quickly crawled through. Inside the common room, a few younger students hurriedly stood up from the sofas and stared in shock at the unfamiliar adult wizard.
The Auror didn't see Caryll at first glance, and his heart dropped in alarm. Then he spotted the brown-haired girl slumped over a table in an armchair as if asleep—and his face instantly went pale.
—
One minute earlier.
As Caryll crawled through the portrait hole, his line of sight was lower than Hermione's. He immediately noticed her wand, which she had casually stuffed into her robe pocket.
Like most wizarding robes, Hogwarts uniforms had a long, narrow side pocket that could easily hold a wand over a foot long.
And like many students studying in the school, Hermione had never developed a habit of safeguarding her wand.
Caryll, however, had been trained in all kinds of skills during his time with the organization. With practiced ease, he swiftly reached out and, without Hermione noticing a thing, slipped her wand from her pocket.
Hermione continued walking ahead: "I remember Parvati swapped the Book of Friends with Harry. I'll ask him to see if he knows where she might've put the book…"
"Sorry, Hermione."
From behind, Caryll gently pressed her own wand against her back and whispered: "Stupefy."
Hermione collapsed silently. Caryll caught her in time and gently placed her into a nearby armchair. Then he reached for the golden chain around her neck—the one he had long coveted—and removed it.
His hands trembled slightly with excitement as he slipped the Time-Turner around his own neck. Seeing the portrait hole beginning to open again, he wasted no time. Imitating the way Hermione used it, he turned the golden hourglass.
He spun it twice.
Time reversed in a flash. In an instant, Caryll was transported two hours into the past.
At that time, all the students heading to Hogsmeade had already left the school, and the younger students hadn't yet woken up. The common room was completely empty.
Caryll climbed the stairs without hesitation, quickly making his way up into the boys' dormitory. He rummaged through Harry's locker and the trunk beneath his bed.
Before long, he had found exactly what he needed—the Invisibility Cloak and the Firebolt.
He had heard countless stories about Harry's Invisibility Cloak from their various adventures, but it wasn't until he actually wore it that he realized—it wasn't quite as flawless as he'd imagined.
His figure did indeed vanish completely into thin air, but his voice and his scent remained detectable.
And in a place like the castle, if a voice was heard but no person was seen, it might only raise more suspicion.
From people like Dumbledore… or house-elves, for example.
Caryll folded up the cloak and stuffed it into his backpack. Then, he wrapped the Firebolt in an old bed sheet—after all, a broom alone wouldn't attract too much attention.
With his things in hand, he crawled back out through the portrait hole, silently praying that Dumbledore would not notice him, and walked quickly down the corridor.
Suddenly, a strange chill blew across the back of his neck, making his scalp prickle. Caryll shivered violently and jumped in fright, two sharp fangs unconsciously flashing into view.
When he turned around, he saw that it was Peeves, blowing air at the back of his neck. The mischievous poltergeist was overjoyed at Caryll's reaction and burst out laughing, clutching his belly and cackling with glee.
Once his pounding heart began to calm, Caryll remembered the previous scene and narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Peeves," he said, "is that silly little prank really enough to satisfy you?"
Peeves's smile vanished. He floated there, unimpressed, and asked: "What's that supposed to mean? You think you can handle something better?"
"No, no," Caryll replied, flashing the same cunning smile Peeves often wore. "I've got a big plan. I guarantee it'll throw the whole school into chaos—Dumbledore will have a headache over it. Want to join in?"
"Ha! What kind of prank could get Dumbledore?" Peeves said excitedly. "Yes! Count me in! What's the plan?"
Caryll's heart thudded in his chest as he leaned closer and said in a low voice: "If I tell you, it'll ruin the surprise. I just need one small favor… Two hours from now, right here—just help me distract Professor McGonagall."
Peeves, who thrived on mayhem and others' annoyance, didn't need much convincing. In no time, he was bouncing away with Caryll's mission in tow, looking delighted.
As Caryll watched the odd ghost vanish down the corridor, he felt—for the first time—the power of time.
It was as if everything he was doing now was merely to set in motion the events that would unfold two hours later.
What if I could go back to the moment when Baird came to deceive my parents? What if I return to the day my family went to the airport… and try to stop it all?
How much would that change the future?
Can I really, as I so desperately wished, ensure that my parents survive?
Caryll bit his lip hard, so hard he tasted blood. He wandered forward in a daze, yet his feet carried him steadily to his destination.
Filch had just returned from patrolling outside the castle. He'd chased off a few couples making out in hidden corners and handed out cleaning detentions to two students—only then was he satisfied enough to head back to his office for a well-earned rest.
Mrs. Norris, her tail upright and proud, strutted behind her master. She was the first to notice Caryll, who was pacing anxiously near the door. She let out a loud "Meow!" to alert Filch.
"Caryll Johnson?" Filch squinted at him with suspicion and asked, "What are you doing here?"
He glanced at his office door, worried that this Gryffindor—or his accomplices—had snuck in to cause trouble.
"It's like this, Mr. Filch." Caryll hurried over with an urgent look and said, "I just saw some Slytherin boys… they… they forced a younger girl into a bathroom…"
"What!?" Filch's eyes widened in shock. His breathing quickened, and his fists clenched in rage. "Who were those little brats? Where are they!?"
"Crabbe, Goyle, Montague… and Flint," Caryll blurted out some unpopular names. "Over by the dungeons, near the Potions ingredients storeroom… but I heard them say it'd be safer to move her to the common room."
Filch dropped his cane and took off running, growling furiously, "In all these years! Never has something this vile happened in the school! I'm going to string those little monsters up and thrash them! Expel them all!"
Caryll chased after him and called out, raising his voice, "Mr. Filch… Mr. Filch… don't you think maybe… you should tell Professor Snape first?"
Filch paused and his expression shifted. After a moment of thought, he reluctantly nodded. "You're right."
As much as Filch wanted to personally catch the culprits, he also knew: one, he couldn't enter the Slytherin common room, and two, if those students got aggressive, he—being a Squib—wouldn't stand a chance against those "little snakes."
He turned and rushed off toward the Potions Master's office.
Caryll slowed down, and once he'd opened enough distance, he ducked into a corner and watched as Filch banged loudly on Professor Snape's door.
A few moments later, the two men rushed off toward the bathroom Caryll had described. Snape's black cloak flared behind him like a shadow of death.
Caryll let out a long breath, thinking: Even if the Auror hadn't caught me, there is no way I could ever return to school after this.
That faint trace of regret was wiped away like dust. Caryll darted into Snape's now-empty office and began rummaging through drawers and shelves.
African tree snake skin, unicorn tail hair, dragon's blood, mandrake root, basilisk scales, basilisk fangs, phoenix feathers…
Snape's collection held an impressive stockpile of rare potion ingredients—and plenty of finished potions too. Caryll searched the shelves until he finally found what he was looking for:
A small vial of Polyjuice Potion.
He snatched up the crystal bottle and sprinted out of the office like he was racing someone.
Fortunately, it seemed Snape and Filch had believed his lie and were busy inspecting the Slytherin common room. Neither had returned to check on him.
The corridor was mostly empty. Caryll dashed into a nearby empty classroom and, without hesitation, spun the golden hourglass one full turn.
Time reversed again—one hour back.
At that point, Filch was still at the front gates checking which students were heading to Hogsmeade, making sure no one was sneaking off. Out on the grass beyond the castle, clusters of students were walking together.
Caryll stood at the window—and even spotted himself and Wade in the distance.
He stayed silent for a moment, then ducked into a hidden passage near the kitchens.
This secret passageway was one he'd learned about from the Weasley twins. Apparently, even Filch knew about this one, so the daring twins never used it themselves.
This was exactly what Caryll had wanted.
Once he slipped into the secret passage, he finally let out a small breath of relief. He threw on Harry's invisibility cloak, mounted his broomstick, and sped through the narrow tunnel as fast as he could to get beyond the bounds of the school.
When he emerged, he found the exit was located behind the Three Broomsticks pub.
He turned the hourglasstwo more times.
Combined, the total reversed time had now reached five hours—the critical safety limit for using a Time-Turner.
Hogsmeade in the early morning was still veiled in a light mist. The village was silent, with only a few windows glowing faintly with warm yellow light.
Caryll cast a direction spell, then took off on his broom. In an instant, the Firebolt reached top speed.
The sky was vast and boundless, but his destination lay in one of two cities.
Before leaving Britain, his home had been in Bristol.
After leaving, his father vanished, and his mother was later placed in a sanatorium in Carlisle.
At the Firebolt's speed, it would take him anywhere from two to four and a half hours to reach either city.
Caryll let the broom fly on autopilot—both cities were roughly in the same direction for now. Meanwhile, his mind wrestled with the inevitable choice he had to make.
Should I chase that slim, nearly impossible chance of saving both parents… Or choose the option with a higher chance of success, and at least save my mother?
His hand, clenched around his wand, trembled uncontrollably. His eyes wandered restlessly—sometimes staring into the clouds, sometimes at the distant earth below—searching for an answer that didn't exist.
Cold lines from textbooks flashed through his mind—
[Time-Turners must not be used to alter known history. Attempts to change the past can result in unforeseen consequences.
Extended time reversal can result in the user's death… or even a collapse of the timeline… Five hours is the absolute limit for safe reversal…]
As the broom neared Carlisle, its speed began to slow, and Caryll knew—his instincts had made the choice for him.
He descended and stopped outside the sanatorium. Without hesitation, he stepped inside.
With the invisibility cloak on, none of the staff or patients noticed the intruder. Caryll searched through patient files and death records. When he found the photo—of that thin, frail woman—his tears fell freely.
It was, without a doubt, his mother.
He took a deep breath, tapped the Time-Turner with his wand, and the hourglass began to spin—faster and faster, until it was just a blur of afterimages.
Everything around him became streaks of color and light, indistinct and brilliant. In the middle of it all, Caryll felt like the only real thing. He kept his eyes shut, not daring to look, until the spinning finally began to slow and he heard voices nearby.
A doctor passed by, flipping through a chart and speaking to a nurse in a white uniform.
Caryll walked down the long corridor, looking through the windows one by one, until finally, he saw her—that thin, worn-down figure.
The woman lay on the hospital bed, asleep. Her eyes were shut tight, but her eyeballs were still shifting restlessly beneath the lids. Her once full and rosy cheeks were now sunken, and her arms were as thin and dry as twigs.
The marks of suffering that fate had carved into her were stark and unforgiving visible..
Caryll clutched the doorframe. His lips trembled. His throat tightened so much he couldn't utter that single word—"Mom." Tears streamed down his face without a sound.
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⭐Harry Potter: Becoming a Study God (HP:BSG)- +235 Chapters
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