"So… Caryll… Caryll is already…"
Hermione held the recovered Time-Turner in her hand, and was unable to bring herself to say the word "dead."
Wade nodded.
The two of them leaned against the corridor wall, and quietly watched their classmates walking and sunbathing on the lawn. For a long time, neither spoke.
Even if they weren't particularly close, the sudden loss of a fellow student still felt abrupt and sorrowful. What's more, Caryll had gotten along well with Hermione. His friendly, outgoing personality had made him quite popular in Gryffindor.
So even though Hermione had been devastated to find the Time-Turner missing when she woke up in the infirmary—like the sky had fallen—now she felt no trace of blame in her heart, only deep sadness for him.
But they couldn't share these feelings with anyone else, because the existence of the Time-Turner had to remain a secret.
"I don't know how to put it, I… I know what he did was wrong, but I can understand him. Do you get what I mean, Wade?"
Hermione spoke in a low voice, "If it had been me… if I were in his place… I might have made the same choice."
Wade didn't respond. He stared off toward the distant forest, the image of that cold corpse in the morgue flashing through his mind.
In that moment, Wade felt a deep reverence toward the power of time and the Time-Turner.
A Time-Turner can let you retrace time, but it can't reverse cause and effect—it seems to be part of causality itself.
Just like how the past Caryll tried so desperately to change was, in fact, his own future. In trying to save his mother, he was walking straight into the ending that had always awaited him.
Wade rubbed his arms, then turned to Hermione and asked, "Wanna go play in the Maze for a bit?"
"Play?" Hermione frowned. "I still have an Animagus essay to finish, and Professor Flitwick assigned us a counter-curse for that jinx…"
Just mentioning her homework made her anxious. Normally, she would've already rushed off to start researching—but today, she just couldn't summon the energy.
Hermione pursed her lips and looked at Wade, only to see him tilting his head at her and raising an eyebrow, as if to say, "—So what?"
Hermione let out a long sigh and slumped her shoulders. "To hell with the homework! Let's go!"
Wade burst out laughing.
They made their way to the Maze. Today, Professor Troka was the one on duty. He was sitting in Hagrid's enormous chair, looking like a kid who had snuck into a grown-up's seat.
Professor Troka had been staring absentmindedly at a few Bowtruckles in the hedges. When he heard footsteps, he looked down and said, "The last group still has five minutes left, so you'll need to wait a bit… Oh, it's you two."
Recognizing Wade and Hermione, Professor Troka smiled and asked, "Didn't go to Hogsmeade?"
"No," Hermione sighed. "I've been too busy."
"Professor, we'd like to go to the more difficult section," Wade said.
"Just the two of you?" Professor Troka asked.
"Yes," Hermione said. "Is that allowed?"
"It's allowed, but if you run into danger, you must send a signal. You both know the Flare Charm, right…" Professor Troka stopped halfway, tapped his forehead, and sighed. "What am I saying, of course you do."
"Is something on your mind, Professor Troka?" Hermione asked.
"No… of course not…" Troka sighed as he spoke.
—Other than the fact that my nephew is a wanted fugitive whose whereabouts are unknown, constantly worrying about my vampire identity being exposed, and wondering if the Defense Against the Dark Arts curse has now passed on to my unlucky nephew… I certainly have no other worries.
"Oh, those kids left early. You two can go in now."
Professor Troka tapped the hedge wall with his wand, and an arched entrance suddenly appeared. Wade and Hermione each took a Bowtruckle and hooked it onto themselves, then drew their wands and stepped into the Maze.
The hedge walls slowly shifted, and soon, an entrance appeared in what had been a sealed-off section to the left—this was the path leading to the more dangerous zone.
"More dangerous" just meant more traps, more riddles, more magical creatures capable of causing harm. Recently, the school had even added some oversized, aggressive magic dolls to the maze.
Bulk customization order, with special discounts from Aslan's Magical Workshop.
Of course, oversized insects are a must—they'd basically become a Hogwarts Maze trademark by now.
Dodging hidden traps on the ground, solving puzzles, pushing away boulders, and stepping into hidden paths.
A Kappa lurking in a pond suddenly reached out its hand and tried to grab Wade's ankle, but it was instantly struck by a flash of magic and let out a screech before vanishing into the murky water.
A giant mantis leapt down from above—Hermione let out a scream and slashed her wand, blasting it cleanly in half at the midsection.
Suddenly, rustling sounds came from all directions. A swarm of ants began crawling in from both ends of the maze—some even scaled the walls, creeping in from the top and sides through the hedges.
The Bowtruckle on Wade's shoulder covered its eyes with its tiny paws, as if it couldn't bear to witness the gruesome scene to come.
"Don't worry," Wade said, picking it up and putting it in his pocket. "A little fire will take care of it."
He raised his wand, about to cast a newly developed flame spell, when Hermione stepped in front of him.
"Wait, Wade," Hermione said. "Let me try first!"
Wade paused, then said, "Alright."
Hermione pointed her wand and shouted, "Petrificus Totalus! Incendio! Reducto! Expelliarmus! Reducio! Reducio!"
Ant after ant was sent flying. At first, Wade was worried Hermione might not be able to handle it all.
But then he saw the way she gritted her teeth and attacked relentlessly—she seemed to have completely forgotten to be afraid, and was focusing only on striking back.
Wade blocked ants from other directions, throwing out spells without restraint. Watching rows and rows of "enemies" being knocked back gave him a surprising sense of relief.
After the ants, they encountered beetles the size of hounds, ambushing red caps, clusters of rats, and a Devil's Snare that suddenly lunged out from the hedges.
By the time they emerged from the Maze, their clothes were a fair bit dirtier, but their faces looked noticeably more relaxed.
The Bowtruckle jumped off their shoulders, grabbed a piece of parchment, and began scribbling down the score they'd earned from the challenge.
"Looks like the game really did cheer you up?" Professor Troka chuckled as he recorded their score. "You two are excellent students, but balancing work and rest is important."
"It's fine—rest is like water in a sponge. If you squeeze, there's always a little to be found," Hermione said, holding on as best she could.
"Listen to me, child, you should put down those never-ending books and go get a good night's sleep," Professor Troka said with a frown. "Look at your dark circles—wearing yourself out like this is not a good thing."
"I know… Actually, once this term is over, I plan to drop two of my classes…"
Hermione hadn't even finished speaking when someone nearby said, "It's wonderful that you've come to that decision… But since you've already made up your mind, why not start adjusting your schedule now?"
Wade turned his head and saw that the speaker was a tall man in black robes. His skin had the pallor of someone who rarely saw sunlight, and his expression was stern. His pale blue eyes seemed distant, unfocused.
Wade looked at the top of the man's head and frowned slightly.
Professor Troka stepped down from the tall chair and asked, "Excuse me, and you are?"
"This is Mr. Broderick Bode from the Ministry of Magic," Professor McGonagall appeared just then and introduced him stiffly. Then she added, "Miss Granger, Mr. Bode needs to speak with you."
"Al… alright," Hermione said nervously.
"What is it?" Wade asked. "If this is about Caryll… Mr. Bode, then perhaps you should be speaking to me."
Bode turned his gaze to Wade and noticed him pulling a golden chain part way out from under his shirt. His eyes flickered slightly.
"Wade Grey?" he nodded. "I've heard of you. Since you were involved as well, you may participate."
The group moved to a small lounge beside the maze. Bode got straight to the point: "Miss Granger, this morning, your Time-Turner was briefly lost, correct?"
"Yes," Hermione said through clenched teeth. "Caryll stunned me and stole my Time-Turner."
"But he didn't cause any major disruptions to history," Wade added.
"Yes, thank Merlin. And Chronos, god of time," Bode said, still expressionless. "He did not recklessly alter known history. That is the only reason I came to the school to speak with you, instead of dragging you all before a tribunal."
"Mind your words, Bode," Professor McGonagall said sharply.
"Miss Granger is a diligent and conscientious student. There's no fault in showing kindness and trust to one's classmates. As for Caryll, who made the mistake—he died a year ago in the past and was careful to avoid disturbing the timeline."
The professor spoke with visible sorrow as she defended her student, and Hermione looked at her with deep gratitude.
"In reality, the disruption has already occurred—most people just haven't noticed it yet."
Bode continued coldly: "The Ministry has detected that today will be approximately thirteen minutes shorter than normal. Tomorrow, it will be seven minutes shorter. The day after, two minutes and thirty-seven seconds shorter…
This continues until about two weeks from now, when the time discrepancy will reduce to 1.8 nanoseconds. Only then will the temporal disturbance begin to fully settle."
"Given the potentially severe consequences of such actions, Miss Granger, I'm afraid you will not be allowed to keep your Time-Turner. This is a decision supported by the majority of Unspeakables in the Department of Mysteries."
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