Silent Paws

Time travel

They all tumbled to the ground. Cita banged her head against a rock and groaned with pain. Her nose twitched when she smelled salt. And water. She blinked rapidly and jumped up- only to jerk back.

She was at the edge of a cliff, standing on a stone platform of a mountain. The black ocean roared loudly deep below, matching the black sky in color.

Cita whirled around and saw Kefir getting up on his paws. The black-robed man was peering over the edge with a frown and when Cita followed his gaze, she saw Skender's figure disappearing in the depths of the ocean.

She felt nothing.

Suddenly, a loud whinny echoed through the air. The sound of galloping hooves neared and Cita turned around in alarm. Her eyes fixed on a small trail led away from the platform and that was a good distance to their left. Then three Silverwings appeared from around the corner, panting heavily.

The leader was a mare. Her eyes were a sky blue and the tip of her horn slightly red. Behind her were two small foals, both with vibrant green eyes. They looked exhausted and flapped their small wings nervously.

The black-robed man stepped forward, his face displaying his shock. But neither of the Silverwings noticed them as they skidded to a stop before the edge of the cliff.

The mare whirled around and lowered her horn, and the foals put the tips of their own against it. A flash of bright light erupted from the point where all three horns connected. The light traveled along the horns to the foals, encasing their body in a silver light.

And that was when Kefir stepped on a twig. It snapped with a crunch and the mare's head shot up. Her eyes widened in fear when she saw the three strangers.

Because of her head movement, the light that had been traveling to her foals changed its direction for a brief second and hit Cita. She yowled when she felt herself flying through the air- and into the ocean below.

Severus cursed and grabbed the broken time turner from the ground. Then he sprinted after Cita. He vaguely noticed Kefir following him and saw out of the corner of his eye how Nura continued changing her daughters into humans.

He felt a pang in his heart when he realized that he couldn't save all three of them from the nearing Death Eaters, not without changing the future.

Severus leapt off the cliff- he fell- and then the cold water slammed into him.

It was cold and dark in the ocean. The light was dim and weakly illuminated a motionless figure floating in the deep water.

A young woman.

Wearing a long, white dress, the woman floated lifelessly in the water, her eyes shut. Her ghostly white hair trailed behind her.

Then golden eyes suddenly snapped open, full of panic.

The woman screamed silently, moving her weird limbs that did not feel like her own. A strong hand wrapped itself around the waist of the woman, pulling her upward.

The woman thrashed around in panic, but Severus relentlessly pulled her upwards.

Once they reached the surface, Severus pulled her to shore, while the woman was gasping for air. Then her eyes rolled back and she collapsed to the ground.

"Shit," Severus cursed silently and straightened up. Nura's spell had accidentally hit Cita and now he had to deal again with the Light Titan becoming a human. Why did this keep happening?

She looks like Mioha, he thought baffled and dried his robes with a flick of his hand.

Well, almost. Unlike Mioha, Cita had-

A snarl reached his ears. Severus turned around and saw how Kefir reached the shore, his black and reddish fur clinging to him and dripping with water. The lion shot Severus a vexed look and shook himself, spraying water everywhere.

Suddenly, a white glow surrounded Kefir, growing stronger until his body was not visible anymore. The lion thrashed around in surprise, then slumped to the wet ground. A bright flash brightened the night and faded as quickly as it had appeared.

When Severus' eyes had adjusted to the darkness again, he found an unconscious young man, who had a striking similarity to Draco Malfoy.

The wizard closed his eyes and exhaled sharply.

He knew Cita and Kefir were somehow connected and her transformation must have influenced Kefir- somehow.

Can things get any worse?

Something shrieked and Severus' head snapped to the cliff. One of the Silverwing foals was plummeting into the water, just as the mare and the other foal got struck by the killing curse. Severus' mouth went dry and he looked around. Where was the stranger who had saved Mioha?

The shore was empty. There was no one there. No one besides Kefir, Cita, and- him.

Severus' eyes widened in realization. He dashed forward, silently casting a spell that would alter his appearance, and dove into the cold water.

****

Just as in Mioha's memory, the stranger dropped her off in a nearby orphanage. Severus had never in his wildest dreams guessed he would be the one. He quickly apparated back to the small cave, where he had left Cita and Kefir. Both were still unconscious, but Severus preferred it that way. He didn't want to imagine how panicked the two would be upon realizing what they had become.

Severus sat down on a boulder and pinched the bridge of his nose. The cold water kept seeping into his robes, despite how many drying charms he cast.

He had to think carefully about his next step. He was stuck in the past and everything he did could alter the future. Skender was dead, so what effect would that have? Probably none because Skender had died after his time travel, which meant his future, younger self would still capture creatures for his circus.

Severus gritted his teeth. At least he didn't have to deal with Skender anymore. He was fish food now.

Something vibrated in his pocket. The wizard slowly reached in with his hand and pulled out a golden object. The broken time turner was spinning like mad.

Severus' eyes widened and he froze for a second- before he threw the object out of the cave. But that second had been too long.

The cave was filled with a bright light. When it faded, the cave was empty. Only the smashed pieces of the time turner remained, scattered across the rocks like golden diamonds.