"Hermione, you don't have to go."

"Ron, if this has happened before, someone else is bound to get stuck in time."

The previous morning, the owls had flown into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as usual, dropping various packages, mail, and copies of the Daily Prophet and the Quibbler. On the front page of the Daily Prophet read in large, bold letters, 'Randolph Skern Trapped in Time!'

"Hey, look at this," Harry had said, holding out the paper so that both Hermione and Ron could see. "Someone apparently used a defective time turner and got trapped forty-two years back!"

"Bloody Hell," replied Ron, who took a small break from shoveling food into his mouth and was staring wild-eyed at the story. "He turned up a few hours later," he read, "but as a 76 year-old!"

"That is just awful! Do they know what was wrong with the time turner?" asked a bewildered Hermione.

Glancing at the last paragraph on the page, Harry frowned and said, "No, Skern told the interviewers that he had given it to a friend when he turned 35."

"Was there a name?"

"He wouldn't give it."

Hermione sighed and gazed up at the ceiling. It was currently layered with thick, white snow clouds. Hermione would be coming home the next day to see her parents during Winter Break. She lowered her gaze to the surrounding walls. They were adorned with various wreaths, decorative lights, and patches of mistletoe. Nearly Headless Nick was gliding around, tipping his head to students as they called out greetings. All of the other Hogwarts ghosts were unusually cheery, and even the paintings were doing their best to get in the spirit. Menorahs were lit on each table, half deep in piles of waffles, pancakes, eggs, you name it.

"Are you all right?" asked Ron, who noticed that Hermione was staring off into space.

Hermione snapped out of her daze and replied, "Yes." She then added, "I was just thinking, if no one knows what was wrong with the time turner, the how do we know that it won't happen to other people?"

"According to the paper," said Harry, "it has happened before. Six times, but never this long."

"Six times?!"

"Yes"

Hermione pondered this throughout the entire day, so deep in thought that she barely paid any attention to her classes save the potion assignment in Snape's class and the Ancient Runes lecture. As soon as she had gotten back to the Gryffindor Common Room, she quickly put her bag away, wrote on the side of the Daily Prophet, 1968. Then, she walked down to Professor Dumbledore's office, telling him her plan. Meanwhile, Harry and Ron were playing Wizard Chess back in the Gryffindor Common Room, wondering where Hermione had gone. By the time she had finished talking to the Headmaster, it was past seven o'clock and the Great Hall was half empty. Harry and Ron were some of those remaining, hoping that Hermione would show herself and answer their questions.

"Maybe she skipped dinner?" Ron half-heartedly asked.

"No, she probably would have told us. We would have at least seen her in the Common Room. Oh, there she is!"

Ron turned to see Hermione walk in and plop down across from them.

"Where were you all afternoon?"

"Speaking to Dumbledore"

"Talking about what? Are you in trouble for something?!" Ron asked incredulously.

Hermione scooped some mashed potatoes onto her plate. "Something that I'm going to do that is completely mental." Ron and Harry exchanged questioning glances.

"And what would that be?" asked Harry.

"It's about the story we read this morning. The one about the man who used a defective time turner." Hermione stared at her plate and swirled her mashed potatoes with her spoon. "Tomorrow," she shakily confessed, "I will travel back in time to try and find the time turner, and maybe even save Skern." As she said this, Ron and Harry's eyes grew wider and wider. "It's the only way to prevent this is the future!" she testified, defending her position.

"Hermione," Ron said slowly, "how would you get back? How would you find Skern? How would you find the time turner? How-"

"Ronald, you are not making this any easier," Hermione butted in indignantly.

"He's right, though," confirmed Harry. "This could be quite dangerous."

"I know, but I have new knowledge that makes me feel a bit better about this. Dumbledore lent me a book from the restricted section that explains a spell that will bring me back here. He also gave me more vital information on Skern and a list of accomplices that he knew during that time that would help me." She then quickly added, "If I need help, that is." With that, she fell silent and returned to the Girls' Dormitory shortly after. The next morning, Hermione, Harry, and Ron trudged out to just beyond the Hogwarts Campus through a foot of fresh snow. Ron made a last attempt at getting Hermione to stay safe in her own time period, and then, realizing she would carry on no matter what, he asked, "Do your parents know that you aren't coming home at the moment?"

"Yes, Dumbledore managed to contact them yesterday." Hermione hesitantly smiled and turned to the road. Taking a deep breath, she took a step and apparated to London, where she would use her own time turner. Ron and Harry stared at where she had been just a moment before, and then they turned to leave. Something caught Harry's eye and he turned. Two figures were coming closer.

The Doctor flipped the switch on the control panel that started the TARDIS's engine. Donna had just lost her memory of him, of the TARDIS, of everything having to do with them. The Doctor flew around the panel as his ship made the all too familiar whirring sound. "Future, nope. Other planets? Uhh… nah. Past it is then on good old planet Earth." Pulling various knobs and levers, he tried not to think of Donna. Or Rose. No, don't think about her. The TARDIS had almost fully landed in London, 1968, when it started violently shaking and alarms started blaring. "What?!" He read the scanner, nearly falling back from surprise-and the fact that the TARDIS was going insane. Unidentified time-traveling device detected. "That couldn't be a…another timelord, could it? It would be known." As quickly as it had begun, the turbulence stopped rocking the TARDIS and the alarms shut off. The only difference from before was that the Doctor wasn't alone. He quickly turned around to find a young girl around 15, looking as confused as he was. He couldn't help but think of how he had met Donna.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"You can call me the Doctor. What is your name?"

She hesitated slightly, then replied, "My name is Hermione Granger."