Chapter 49. The Time-Turner
When the Sorting and then the feast were over, we, unlike the others, did not return to the dormitory under Hermione's curious gaze. After all, Dumbledore had asked us to stay behind. And we already had a pretty good idea why. The Time-Turner. Even though in the original story as we know it there was a rather strange moment involving that artifact, we believe it was nothing but incredible luck that everything ended well, and perhaps also that Dumbledore hinted that the loop still needed to be closed. In any case, the fact remains that attempts to use such an artifact to change events are both incredibly foolish and quite likely to lead to sad consequences for the user and for those whose lives are entangled in the attempt to alter events.
(A small digression. Forget "The Cursed Child." I read that nonsense back in the day and can say with confidence that even among fanfics it's utter garbage and will not be treated as canon.)
The headmaster's office greeted us with the by-now familiar buzzing of numerous artifacts. The headmaster was sitting at his desk, writing something in a small notebook. Fawkes was peacefully sleeping in his usual place. He already looked quite old; his time was clearly drawing near for a new cycle of life and death.
"Professor?" we called.
"Come in, sit down," he replied without lifting his gaze from the notebook, and as we came closer, we noticed that the words he had just written were dissolving, and the page became blank for a moment before a new short line appeared on it.
"Who are you?" — seeing this question, Dumbledore chuckled and then, shaking his head, added: "Oh, Tom, did you really think I had forgotten you?"
"Professor, is that…?" we began.
"Yes," the old man answered at once, then leaned back in his chair and started to explain: "The day you came to me, I contacted Arthur immediately, since this concerned his daughter's safety. Although she had already fallen under the diary's influence, it was still not strong enough to harm her, so everything turned out fine."
"But why haven't you destroyed it yet?" we asked through Andromeda, watching curses against Dumbledore begin to flash across the diary's pages.
"Partly out of curiosity. And I also thought you would feel more at ease if you saw the end of this Horcrux with your own eyes. In addition, this Horcrux is surprisingly talkative, though it sometimes pretends to be just a magical artifact with limited memory."
"I see…" we drawled, thinking that it was better not to mention that we actually didn't care how he dealt with it, though since things were going this way anyway…
"Professor, will you allow us to do it?"
"Of course," the old man nodded graciously, then pushed the diary closer to us, along with a small bone dagger which, judging by the look of it, was made from the basilisk fang we had given him.
"Do you mind if we…?" Without finishing the sentence, we took Regulus's quill in hand, making it clear what we wanted to do as a final touch.
"Go ahead," the old man smiled.
"Thank you." We immediately dipped the tip of the quill into the inkwell on the table, then wrote just one line on the pages:
"Remember the name of the one who destroys you. We are Vega!"
And as soon as the words began to fade, Regulus snapped the diary shut, and Andromeda drove the poisoned dagger into it with all her strength. Ink started to gush from the point of impact, like blood. Then another blow was struck.
"NOOOOOOO!" The headmaster's office was filled with the piercing scream of a fragment of soul that did not want to die, a scream that lasted only a brief instant before falling silent.
The headmaster waved his wand, putting the desk back in order, and, as if nothing out of the ordinary had just happened, said:
"Well, that's done. Now let's talk about our business."
"You're going to give us the Time-Turner?" we asked at once.
"Correct. But before I give it to you, you'll have to swear an oath."
"An oath?" we repeated, taken aback.
"Yes," the old man nodded seriously. "The Time-Turner is quite a dangerous instrument, though extremely useful in the context of learning. And so, in order not to risk your lives or anyone else's, you will have to swear to observe certain safety rules."
"Understood," we accepted this answer; after all, it really was much more logical than just handing such an artifact to second-years with nothing but a few words of advice.
"All right. First, you must swear that you will not use the Time-Turner to alter past events. Second, you must swear to use it in such a way that you do not meet your doubles. Third, you must swear not to take with you anyone who has not given the corresponding oaths. And fourth—this is just my personal advice—it is best not to go too far into the past, or it will be harder to comply with the first and second points."
"We thought there was a strict limit on how far back you can jump."
"That is a recommendation from the Ministry of Magic. However, if it is used for systematic study, I consider 24-hour use to be the best option so that your sleep schedule is not disrupted. And that is exactly how we will proceed.
"Tomorrow morning a house-elf will bring you to the Shrieking Shack. You know of it, don't you?" the old man suddenly asked, and seeing us nod, continued: "There we will use the Time-Turner and then move to my home, where the lessons will be held, and where you will be able to rest. After that, when the time comes, you will go to your school classes as usual, spending a normal day at school again."
"Convenient," we remarked, though we still had more questions.
"Professor, would it be possible to roll time back a third time in the same way so that we can also practice on our own at home? And may we invite our friend Hermione Granger to join us?"
"If you strictly follow the conditions laid down, then yes. As for Miss Granger, she will first have to take the oaths, and if she is not put off by the subject we are studying, I have nothing against her participation."
"All right. So, what kind of oath will we be taking?"
"An Unbreakable Vow."
When we returned to the dormitory, most of the Gryffindors had already gone to bed. Mostly the upper years were still awake; even after such a large feast they were, on the contrary, ready to continue the party in the common room. Only Hermione stood out against this backdrop, clearly waiting for us to come back.
The girl immediately jumped up and ran to us, but what we were about to discuss was not for outside ears, so Regulus went up to the boys' dormitory, and Andromeda led Hermione to the bathroom where, after casting a simple sound-muffling charm, she told Hermione about our plan for the next two years and the conditions for using the Time-Turner together with us.
And naturally, the girl, having heard that not only would she gain extra time for study compared to everyone else, but would also get the chance to receive lessons directly from Dumbledore, agreed without a second thought and was so happy that she hugged our female half so tightly it felt like one more squeeze and she'd crush her. Where did such strength come from in that cute, petite little body of hers?