A/N: Ok, so this is really, really long. It's written for the Pirate Ship Battles for the KBOW ship. Time Traveling is the theme. I used the prompts wallet, aroma, reading, chime, and interlude. It was supposed to have a minimum of 1600 words, but I went way over with 2,400+ words. Fremione helped a lot. Anyway.. enjoy the novel! Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. JK Rowling does.
"Ten, nine, eight!" Katie chanted with her best friends, Angelina and Alicia. Angelina had talked Katie into coming to her New Year's Eve party even though she wasn't much of a partier. She grinned as they continued counting the seconds down.
"Seven, six, five-" Someone's hands suddenly wrapped around her waist and she gasped when she saw it was her boyfriend, Oliver Wood home from the Quidditch World Cup.
"Oliver!" She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly.
Their lips met just before the ball dropped, though nobody noticed. They didn't notice when everybody started cheering either since they were busy making their own fireworks.
"Happy new year!" Fred and George called out, causing them to pull away when they clapped their hands on their shoulders excitedly.
"Get a room," Angelina added as she wrapped her hands around George's shoulders. "Actually don't. Your room is next to mine."
"Actually…I am going to steal Katie away from you for the night," Oliver answered with a wink. "I've got a car waiting outside."
"But you just got here," The twins said together as they pouted.
"Oh, let them go," Hermione said, waving a hand at the twins. "They're in love."
"We'll play a game of Quidditch tomorrow," Oliver promised them, and they brightened before turning to their dates.
"Where are we going?" Katie asked him curiously.
"It's a surprise…come on," Oliver said as he opened the car door for her.
Katie stood on her tip toes and kissed his lips lightly. "I missed you," she murmured as she closed the space between them. She turned to the car and raised an eyebrow at it. "Are you sure you know how to drive this thing? Wouldn't it be easier if we just apparate?"
Oliver chuckled and opened his wallet to show her a card with his picture on it. "I have a license now…we can drive whenever we need to be discreet now."
She frowned. "But driving is more dangerous," she protested. "Thousands of people get into car accidents every year…why would you want to do such a thing?"
"Flying is more dangerous," Oliver pointed out. "And so is Quidditch. Besides, driving is a nice change of scenery. And less nauseous," he added. He held the door open for Katie again and gave her an adorable look.
"This better not be a bad choice," Katie said, shaking her head as she got into the car. She couldn't help but feel that the night was an interlude of some sort.
"Finally, they're gone," Fred said as he dramatically sank down onto the couch where Hermione was reading on. He smirked when he saw her with a book in her hands. "You always have to have a book with you, don't you?"
"I thought you always said it was endearing," Hermione said as she casually turned a page. "Why are you excited about them being gone?" she asked curiously.
"Oliver's proposing to Katie tonight," Fred answered casually.
Hermione widened her eyes. "He is? Really?"
He nodded. "He's got this whole thing planned and everything. I never thought Oliver was a romantic guy," he said, shaking his head.
It was Hermione's turn to smirk. "He is with Katie," she said, resting her head on Fred's shoulder.
"Yes, that's true. How did they meet? It was before Hogwarts, right?"
"It was a chance meeting…they were best friends after he rescued her from some boy bullying her."
"But they didn't kiss until we won the Quidditch Cup in third year," Fred finished, shaking his head. "Aren't they adorable?"
"Yes, they are. I think I'm going to go to bed now though," Hermione said as she stood up and stretched. "I'm not really much of a night owl."
"I'll be in there soon," Fred said as he kissed Hermione on the lips.
Fred spotted something shiny on the couch when Hermione left the room. He picked it up and traced it before immediately realizing what it was. "A time- turner!" he murmured in an awed voice, as he turned it over and over again in his hands. "I've never seen one in person…"
A mischievous grin appeared on his face. Time- turners were still illegal, though Hermione had to have gotten permission to have this one like she did in her third year. "I wonder how you use it," he murmured as he placed it around his neck. He frowned when nothing happened. He decided he wouldn't mess with time. He just wanted to know what it felt like to travel in it.
He finally spun the time turner tentatively, and looked around when the room started to move on him. "It worked!" He murmured gleefully. "I wonder what would happen if I gave it several turns?" The time turner gave a soft chiming noise as it picked up speed and threw him off the couch and he suddenly caught an aroma of freshly mowed grass somewhere.
"WOAH!" He glanced around, stunned that he had actually figured out how to make the time-turner work. There was just one little problem though… he didn't know how to go back to his time. And he had no idea where he was at either.
He saw that he was in the woods somewhere…and he saw a little girl who looked just like Katie Bell. Fred grinned suddenly. He was safe now! This had to be where Oliver and Katie were going to meet!
An older boy came up and started tugging on Katie's braids. "Your braids look like worms!" The boy cried as he kept tugging on her braid. "Stop it!" Little Katie complained, smacking the boy's hand away.
Fred fumed. Nobody could mess with Katie Bell and get away with it! He stood up from his hiding spot and started walking over to them when the boy kept bothering her. "Leave Katie alone!" he said firmly, shoving the boy.
The boy narrowed his eyes, taking in Fred's sudden appearance. "No Weasley can tell me what to do," he snarled.
"Do you need your ears cleaned out? Because I have just the right tool to clean them with…I'm not fussy where I put it either," Fred said as he started rummaging in his pockets for what he was looking for.
"Or…I did. I'm sure Oliver already told you to leave Katie alone too."
"Whatever, I'm out of here," the boy said, as he rolled his eyes and took off.
"Who is Oliver?" Katie asked, glancing at Fred curiously.
"Oliver Wood! He's the guy who saved you from that boy, right?"
Katie backed away slowly. "I'm sorry…I have no idea who you're talking about."
"But you must already know him! Wasn't he here already?" Fred demanded, as he started to feel frantic.
"No…I'm not supposed to speak to strangers either. I don't trust you."
"But we're friends! We played on the Gryffindor Quidditch team together!" Fred widened his eyes as he realized what was happening. Of course Katie wouldn't know Oliver yet…Oliver was supposed to come over right now, but Fred had reacted without thinking when he saw Katie was being picked on.
Fred Weasley groaned when it was his turn to back up suddenly. He had screwed up bad. He had stopped Katie and Oliver from meeting! "You never saw me!" He blurted out as he quickly ran away.
"Bloody hell, bloody hell, bloody freaking hell," Fred groaned as he kicked a tree stump. What was going to happen now that he had prevented them from meeting? What were the consequences of meddling with time like this?
He had to get back to Hermione as soon as possible. He needed her. But first he had to see what the damage of this visit did before assuming that there were consequences.
Fred frantically got out the time turner. "Please take me back to my time, please!" He murmured to it as he spun it over several times.
The scenery wooshed and changed in a rapid speed that caused him to feel dizzy.
He landed in his flat again, and George glanced at Fred curiously. "I thought you were going to bed? Check it out, I fixed our latest invention!" He cried, holding up the shield hat.
"Not now, George. I need to find Katie and Oliver," Fred said frantically.
George frowned at his twin. "Katie and Oliver?"
"Yes!" Fred said impatiently, rushing out the door.
He apparated to their flat and knocked on the door, but nobody answered. He got out a bobby pin and started picking the lock to unlock it.
"Katie? Oliver?" He called out, glancing around the room. There was no signs of them anywhere. Where were they? He checked for pictures, and saw that there were still pictures there. He walked into their bedroom and saw their coats in the floor.
No one answered, and Fred could feel himself starting to panic even more. There really was consequences of meddling with time…it was like they had just vanished from air!
"No, no, no!" he murmured, running a hand through his hair. He apparated back to his flat to get Hermione's help.
"Hermione, wake up! Please, Hermione! I screwed up majorly this time… I don't know what to do… please wake up!" he begged, shaking her awake. Merlin, why did she have to be such a heavy sleeper?
"Fred?" Hermione murmured as she rolled over and looked up at him sleepily. "What's wrong? Did a potion blew up again?"
Fred shook his head adamantly. "No… this is much, much worse than a blown up potion." He knew that his eyes must've revealed how scared he was because Hermione suddenly sat straight up.
"What did you do?" she asked with a sigh.
"I found your time-turner and went back in time and prevented Katie and Oliver from meeting…and now they're gone."
Hermione narrowed her eyes, looking like she didn't quite believe his story. "Gone?" she asked slowly.
Fred nodded vigorously. "POOF! They vanished because I went back into time. I just know it!" Fred said.
"I need your help…. Please, Hermione. I'm not making this up. I'll never touch the time turner again after this, I just wanted to know what it was like…"
"BLOODY HELL, FRED!" Hermione uncharacteristically shrieked as she jumped up. "You should've known not to meddle with time! Didn't I tell you what would happen if anybody did?"
"I know, I just need your help fixing it. I'm sorry!"
"It's ok," Hermione said, holding her hands up apologetically. "I shouldn't have snapped. This can be fixed….we just need to make sure that they still meet so they can be back on track," she murmured, thinking hard.
"You know what the boy looks like. You're coming with me," she said as she carefully wrapped the chain around both of them.
Fred gave her a curious look. "You want me to come with you? Won't I mess things up?"
"No…you'll show me who the boy is, and then I'll get him to pick on Katie again… come on, we're running out of time!"
She expertly gave the time-turner a few turns, and they went back to the same spot Fred was in a while ago… or years ago really.
"I'll go look for the boy," Fred said as he got up once they landed.
"We should stick together…you can't talk to him again because you probably made him angry," Hermione said knowingly. "And that would probably mess with time even more."
"But if he sees you, won't that mess with time too?" Fred asked, scratching his head.
"I'm trying to make Oliver and Katie meet," Hermione said firmly, shaking her head.
"Yeah, but how will Oliver know to save her?" Fred asked frantically.
"We just have to have faith this time," Hermione said, shrugging her shoulders.
"Well there's the boy," Fred said, narrowing his eyes. The boy from earlier was staring at Katie with a smirk and his arms crossed.
Hermione walked over without another word and started whispering to the boy. What was his name anyway? Fred wondered to himself.
He looked around and suddenly saw a younger Oliver walking down his path. His heart soared as he looked back at Hermione. He knew he wasn't supposed to meddle with time again…but… he stuck his foot out as Oliver was about to walk by and caused him to trip.
"What the-" Oliver sputtered as he fell face flat on the ground.
Fred covered his mouth as he resisted the urge to snicker.
"LEAVE ME ALONE! I told you to quit bothering me already!"
"Your hair really looks like worms today though," Fred overheard the boy say.
Oliver got up suddenly as the boy reached for Katie's hair. "HEY!" Oliver yelled, and Fred jumped to hide out of sight. He heard Oliver walk away, and Hermione rushed over to him.
"It worked…where did Oliver come from?" Hermione asked in amazement.
Fred shrugged his shoulders innocently. "He just happened to walk by and hear what was going on," he said mysteriously.
Hermione narrowed her eyes. "You didn't let him see you, did you?"
"NO!" Fred said truthfully. "I may have… made him trip and fall though. Relax," he said as Hermione widened her eyes.
"He probably thought my foot was a tree branch or something. They're back on track now, though. Let's go."
It was morning when Fred and Hermione had reached back to their time again. Fred rubbed his head. All of the time traveling he had done that day had given him a major headache. He definitely knew better than to meddle with time again!
"Let's go check on Katie and Oliver," Fred said immediately once they were back in their flat. Hermione was about to protest when he opened the door. He didn't have to go very far because Katie and Oliver were already standing there.
"Woah, how'd you know we were at the door?" Oliver said curiously.
"You're alive!" Fred cried happily, hugging both of them.
"Of course we are," Katie said, glancing over his shoulder at Hermione to exchange a weird look.
"How much did you drink last night, Fred?"
"Never mind that now… we're engaged!" Katie announced, showing them her ring.
"Thank Merlin," Fred muttered as he looked at Hermione.
"What?" Oliver asked, looking at him again.
"He meant to say congratulations," Hermione cut in as she took a step forward to them.
"Yeah, congratulations," Fred said, nodding his head. Hermione gave him another knowing look, and they both decided then that they would never speak about their time traveling experience with anybody.
A/N: Thank you for reading!