Turning Time (A Harry Potter Fanfic)

The Magic Quill, pt. 3

Harry had been trying so hard to act childish that he had become intolerant and immature. He did truly believe, however unjustly, in Slytherin’s inferiority. And while he felt a little bad for snapping at Severus, he hoped that it gave him something to think about. Maybe he would eventually want to be Gryffindor. He just had to convince him.

Harry’s watch read 10 hours so far, and he was getting tired. Since the time he had woken up from Lily’s house it had probably been 16 hours, and it was exhausting to be constantly walking and Apparating. He went to his new house, looked through the bedrooms, and chose the more comfortable and spacious of the two. He spun the Time-Turner ahead to nightfall to make it more comfortable, then settled into bed.

Harry dreamt of Quidditch. He hadn’t ridden a broom in months, so it was only a matter of time before his mind reminded him of it. The dream was kind of vague. He could remember flying with a few other people who had blurry, random features. Harry immersed himself with the familiar swooping sensation, the lightness that was exaggerated by the dream. 

When he awoke, he couldn’t remember the dream, but ached with the desire to fly. He was tempted to grab his broom, camouflage himself, take off…But he couldn’t waste time doing that sort of thing. There would be a chance for that in his first year of school. Or would there be? He had to blend in. Even being above average at flying, whether or not he was ever got on the Quidditch team, would make him stand out. 

Dispirited, Harry dragged himself out of bed and put on his glasses, which he had shaped into rectangles to distinguish himself from his classic circular pair. He gathered all of his things, making sure there was absolutely no sign that he had been there recently. He was going to the 16th of August, the day after his home would be visited. 

After fiddling with the device, Harry appeared two days ahead of time. Sure enough, when he went to the front room, there was what appeared to be a book bound in manila paper. He grinned and picked up the package. He ripped it open to reveal a good-sized midnight-blue book that read, Everything You Need to Know about the wizarding world. Harry flipped through it, grinning, then went back to the bedroom to put it away. 

He splashed his face with water, dressed, and ate, trying to refresh himself so he could concentrate on apparating. When he was ready, he disappeared under his cloak and was gone with a faint popping noise. Harry reappeared by Lily and Snape’s meeting place. Luckily, the sound he made when Apparating was never loud enough to be heard over the sounds of the forest.

He was a bit early to meet Snape, so he took the opportunity to walk a few hundred feet away. This way, he’d look less like he knew about Snape’s meetings with Lily. Harry took his cloak and wand and put them behind a tree where they were unlikely to be seen. 

Soon enough, Snape was headed in his direction, walking alongside the river. He looked kind of sad, and his hair looked droopier than usual. He seemed to perk up slightly when he saw Harry, however. 

When they reached each other, Severus greeted him first. “Hello.”

“Hi. Listen, I’m sorry about what I said earlier.”

“It’s fine. But…I still want to be in Slytherin, you know.” 

Harry tried to hide his disappointment. Even after what he said to Snape, he wanted to be in Slytherin? Did he want to ruin his life? 

“Whatever rumors there are about the house…” Yeah. Rumors. Sure. Harry thought glumly. “…it doesn’t mean that it’ll affect me. And, I can choose whatever house I want.” He didn’t make any promises, like, “Don’t worry, I won’t get into the Dark Arts, and I promise not to screw my life up.” What he did say was: “Maybe it won’t even matter, maybe I won’t get to choose.”