from Time to Time | Lucius Malfoy

A theft with consequences

1981

"Come on, ladies! A little faster, please!", the shrill voice of our headmistress chases us through the hall. Dancing... DANCING of all things! The prom is coming and Madame Surrey insisted on a dance class, after all, every young witch and every young wizard should learn the standard dances of their day. I wondered what the standard dances of the past were? I asked myself, staring blankly into space. I was totally lost. My friends were sitting next to me having a great chat. There was giggling and gossiping, the constant admonitions of our teacher were simply ignored.

One, two, three... one, two, three... I counted as Chris threw me across the room. The guy was a disaster! Again and again he stepped on my toes or lost his rhythm. "Sorry... oh... sorry! Oops!", I heard over and over and kept smiling, ignoring the pain. No, it wasn't his fault. Making a mess of him now would do absolutely nothing. Besides, Chris couldn't do anything about my bad mood. I concentrated on the step sequence, somehow we would manage it.We were divided into two groups before dancing class started, girls and boys mixed. That was seldom but in this case more than necessary. Everyone needed a dance partner in the end. The physical contact with our classmates was somehow strange. You weren't assigned to the cute guy from the year above you of course but to the clumsy nerd from the year below. Or like my friend Miranda, to her own brother. Dreadful. He kept turning and spinning her around, releasing her hands so she stumbled across the room and ended up falling and scraping her knees. How old are we, eight?

Actually I got a reasonably good deal with Chris. He went to my class, was a bit taller than me, had short brown hair and wore black glasses. He wouldn't look so bad if he hadn't knocked out a front tooth at Quidditch last week. Of course you could replace the tooth with a simple potion, but Chris was terribly afraid of the pain and preferred to walk around without said tooth.My shoes were too tight and hurt terribly, it was stuffy in the hall and I was also hot and tired. I hadn't slept much during the last few nights, only kept lying in bed without sleep thinking about what my future would look like. I was 16 and had absolutely no idea what to do after graduation. I was very gifted in 2 or 3 subjects, but somehow there was nothing I could imagine doing for a living.

"Miss Sterling, did you hear me?" Madame Surrey's voice snapped me out of my world. I stared at her puzzled. Damnit, had she spoken to me? Admonished me? Asked something? "I... um... excuse me, could you repeat that?" I asked in a squeaky voice. She rolled her eyes and snorted like a horse. "You shall go get the record player in the directorate! The muggle device!" The muggle device, all right... I rose and tried to walk elegantly and gracefully out of the room. A few of my classmates giggled. As the door slammed shut behind me, I kicked off my heels and waddled towards the directorate. Damn shoes.

It was idiotic that she would send me. Getting a record player... the device must weigh as much as Chris and I'm the fortuned one to drag it down 2 floors into the hall? Why doesn't anyone ever think about using magic during such moments? It would be easy to let the turntable float downstairs comfortably. Merlin, I was annoyed. Today just wasn't my day.

The door wasn't locked, I just walked in. "Hey there? Is anybody here? Madame Surrey sent me!" - no answer. Great, I'm looking for the record player myself then. I looked around the tastefully furnished room. Not a soul to be seen, but all kinds of stuff. In a corner I found the device I was looking for and picked it up. Oh my goodness, the assumed weight was definitely an understatement! I set the monstrous thing down again and thought about which spell I should use now. However, what I then discovered drew all my attention. Forgotten was the turntable problem and the stabbing pain in my back. I was fascinated by a necklace with a pendant made up of several elements. I completely ignored the nasty muggle device now, I had to take a closer look at the jewelry. Never before have I seen anything more beautiful, more extraordinary.. .

Jewelry wasn't a big passion of mine, but there was something about this piece that drew me in. I lifted the necklace and twisted the individual rings that made up the pendant, observing the small hourglass inside. The sand began to flow and I watched the little spectacle. Curiosity kills the cat but I don't give two fucks at all, I thought to myself and put the piece of jewelry around my neck. I closed my eyes and felt the cold metal against my skin. Suddenly I felt like I was falling...

I fell and fell and fell... Everything blurred around me, I was immersed in a fog and my surroundings became distorted. My innermost turned to the outside and vice versa. I felt like I was falling apart and putting myself back together. It didn't hurt, wasn't uncomfortable at all, just a new and alien feeling. After a few seconds the magic was over. I didn't take the necklace off, but I tucked it into my blouse so no one could see it. I had never stolen anything before, but I wanted to own this thing. Whatever just had happened, I would have to figure out what it was, how it worked, where it would go and most importantly, how to control it.

I had a certain hunch the chain was good for something. Maybe you could do something special with it. Maybe fly? No, it feels different somehow. Speak another language? That could be the case, but I wouldn't find out myself, I would have to talk to someone. But maybe you can also travel with it? I just turned the elements for fun, it probably needs a spell to get to the other side of the world. I would definitely read up on charmed necklaces, lockets and jewelry in general at the library. This piece definitely can do something, but what is it?

I liked the feeling of falling, the spinning room, the flying, shattering and merging... Somehow it felt like I had apparated. I was still in the directorate and it looked mostly the same but... wait a minute, where's the record player? I looked around the room. It was the same size as 20 seconds ago, but somehow it looked different now. Nothing was in its place anymore, the timetables were no longer on the blackboards, the folders were no longer on the shelves, the radio was not only switched off but... gone? In general, not a single piece of technical equipment was to be seen. Oh Merlin, did I erase the tech?