A Witch Out of Time

「 prologue 」

Teal walls, an embellished mood-board and the distinct scent of fresh books welcomed Hermione home. She perched herself comfortably upon the edge of her cold bed, blissfully smiling. Gradually, as the room came to heat up, her figure lay back and she snuggled into the sheets.

Sometimes she forgot how much she missed the place! To return home from Hogwarts was a rare occasion and Hermione was very grateful for each instance she was permitted. Christmas was always her favourite holiday though, significantly due to the emphasis of family — and she was finally able to visit hers. Hermione's parents were her biggest support and so proud and accepting of their daughter; being a witch actually explained some of the strange things which occurred when she was a child.

Soft, russet eyes blinked up at the ceiling whilst Hermione recalled her many memories in her home. Nothing came close to detention or her adventures at Hogwarts, but she treasured the little things: the whole family painting her room while blasting Journey and Bon Jovi, their many camping trips, when her parents took her trick-or-treating for the first time. She missed them.

A sudden screech alerted Hermione. She rushed downstairs to identify the commotion: her mother had her back turned and was stood frozen.

"Uh – um – please don't be mad, H'. ." The dentist pleaded, slowly rotating her figure, "I was just unpacking your stuff for you, and your neck—"

"—My time-turner!" Hermione gasped.

The golden hoops, surrounding the central details of an hourglass, had greatly warped. How they had come to be so mis-shaped she hardly cared for, but they would need to be repaired and soon. She couldn't return to Hogwarts with that! Hermione stared and stared, and then stared some more.

A few moments passed. Suddenly, with no other ideas in mind, Hermione gathered her father's pliers and got to work.

She spent days adjusting and examining the piece, carefully returning the necklace to its original form, when finally the appearance was practically the same. Hopefully the reversal charm hadn't been affected. Hermione trusted that would be the case as she placed the chain around her neck — evidently to test her theory. Yet, before a digit could rotate the gold plate, the magic initiated.

Time relapsed so fast, so far, the world reduced to darkness for some consecutive moments. Hermione promptly arrived at the destination, and — like her mother had been days earlier — froze. Her home was gone, in fact her whole estate was gone! The main illumination derived from homes further up the road. She reached for her wand only to realise it had not been upon her figure.

"Oh no," The wizard muttered.