Disclaimer: None of Harry Potter, associated characters, events and settings are mine, they belong to J.K.Rowling, Warner Brothers etc. This story is written solely for entertainment and no profit.
A/N: (The original author's note has been removed), This is my first fic, using one of my favourite (and sadly, most overused) HP plots - timetravel - I've tried to be as original and avoid clichés as much as possible, but feedback on how successful I've been is always appreciated!
"What do we do?" Hermione asked Harry, helpless to prevent her trembling - Death Eaters could be heard from beyond the doorway, and needless to say, their intentions were anything but friendly. Book learning was of no use now - and in the DA, she'd always known she'd never come to any real harm, but this, this was real, far more real than Hermione would like to admit - their lives were in danger, and her mind had gone blank, save for one thought - escape.
"Well, we don't stand here waiting for them to find us, for a start," Harry replied, far more calmly than Hermione herself felt, and she followed him blindly, hoping Harry had a plan but knowing he didn't. "Let's get away from this door."
They ran away from the door, as quietly as possible in this situation, past the room's sole illumination - the bell jar in which a humming bird continued in it's cycle of hatching and 'unhatching', sneaking towards the exit into the circular hallway, which lay at the far end of the room, a tense silence hovering over them for fear of attracting the other Death Eaters. The door lay no further than fifteen feet away, when the bang of a large and heavy object echoed through the room, colliding with the door which Hermione had charmed shut, and Hermione started, surprised, whilst Harry dragged her onwards.
"Stand aside!" ordered a rough voice. "Alohamora!"
The door blasted open and Hermione, Harry and Neville dived instinctively beneath the desks. Hermione could hear the swish of the Death Eater's robes, their feet moving rapidly. She pressed herself further into the desk, attempting to control her breathing, to make it soundless, as animal being stalked by a predator does, lest she be discovered.
"They might've run straight through to the hall." Suggested the harsh-voiced Death Eater.
"Check under the desks." Commanded a second voice.
Hermione gripped her wand tightly, watching the knees of the Death Eaters bend, choosing a Death Eater to curse.
"STUPEFY!" Harry yelled, and a Death Eater fell backwards into a large grandfather clock, with a resounding clang. Hermione sent a petrifying spell, which flew past the other Death Eater, bounced off a wall, and dissipated as it hit a desk. Hurriedly, Hermione crawled out from under the desk, trying to get a better aim, burying her fear under adrenaline.
"Avada -"
The Death Eater they had missed brandished his wand, as Harry threw himself at the Death Eater's knees causing them to topple and his aim to go awry. Hermione yanked herself entirely out from under the desk, and flung herself out of the way as she heard;
"EXPELLIARMUS!"
Hermione jumped to her feet, as Harry and the Death Eater's wands soared through the air, back towards the entrance to the Hall of Prophecy. Both scrambled to their feet, and tore after their wands, the Death Eater in the lead, Harry hot on his heels, with Neville in pursuit, wearing a horrified expression. Hermione stood dumbstruck for a moment, before tearing after them, keen to avoid separation.
"Get out of the way Harry!" she heard Neville yell, keen to repair the damage he had wrought and saw Harry swerve to one side as Neville yelled, "STUPEFY!" Hermione strained her leg muscles, pushing herself to move faster.
The jet of red light missed the Death Eater completely, striking a glass-fronted cabinet, filled with hourglasses of various sizes. The cabinet crashed to the floor the hour-glasses shattered, glass shards flew everywhere, sprang back up the wall, mended, hour-glasses disappearing one by one, as if they'd never existed –
The Death Eater had picked up his wand, which lay beside the glistening bell jar. Harry hurdled over a desk, hiding, as the man turned. His mask slipped and he yanked it off, shouting "STUP-"
"STUPEFY!" Hermione screamed, finally catching up with Harry and Neville, her spell striking the Death Eater in the middle of his chest, causing him to tense and freeze, his wand arm still raised. His wand slipped out of his hand, to the floor, with a clatter and he crumpled backwards, the bell jar lying in his path.
Hermione fully expected to hear a dull clunk as the man's head collided with the bell-jar, but instead, his head sank through the bell-jar, as though it were no more than water, sliding through the surface of the jar, and he lay prone, sprawled on a table, his head in the jar of glittering wind. As the other two stood, watching the Death Eater's plight, Hermione waved her wand.
"Accio wand!" she cried, catching Harry's wand as it flew from a dark corner, and she tossed to Harry.
"Thanks," Harry caught the wand one handed. "Right, let's get out of -"
"Look!" Neville cried, looking puzzled. He was gazing at the wall from which the many-sized hour glasses had once been encased. Now only the largest of which remained, set into the wall, which spun as they watched. The area where the hour-glasses had fallen was inexplicably lighter – it's source of light something other than the bell jar, the light permeating the area where the hour-glasses had once been, yet casting no light on any other surface. As they watched two vague figures sped past, and Hermione thought she heard,
"Didn't you hear, Bagman's been let off the Death Eater charges?"
"Apparently he's coming to work at the ministry!"
"Oh God, can you imagine it?"
"Did you hear that?" Hermione asked, glancing at Harry and Neville, both of whom were still staring at the wall, fear overtaken by a natural curiosity.
"Hear what?" asked Neville bemusedly.
"I heard it." Harry looked at Hermione curiously, expecting an explanation forthcoming. "Something about Bagman and Death Eaters."
"Bagman was once under trial for Death Eater charges, remember Harry?" Hermione whispered, eyeing the wall, mind sorting and discarding viable theories.
"When was that?" Harry was slightly stunned.
"Sometime just after You-Know-Who's downfall. Percy told us at the Quidditch World Cup." Hermione took a step closer to the wall, which was cycling through stages of bumblebee light, sometimes brightly lit, and sometimes bathed in darkness. "I wonder…" she whispered, mind narrowing down on one cause in particular.
"But I can't hear anything!" Neville interjected, staring between the two of them looking surprised and uncomprehending.
"You've got to be kidding me! Black would never do anything like that!"
"Have a look at the headline then! 'Black Blows Up Best Friend - Suspected of Death Eater Involvement' - it goes on!"
"I think it's…time." said Hermione, fingertips still outstretched. "Those hourglasses. Did they look familiar to you Harry?"
"Time-turners!" said Harry, awestruck.
"What?" Neville looked confused, and was glancing worriedly round the room. "We should get going before more Death Eaters come!" he said, tugging on Harry's sleeve where Harry stood transfixed.
"So why can't Neville hear it Hermione?"
"Hear what!" Neville whispered, shaking Harry's sleeve harder.
"I don't – my time-turner!" said Hermione elatedly.
"What about it?" Harry still stood staring at the wall, mesmerized.
"STUPEFY!" someone roared, and the three of them heard a distant scream and a crash. Neville's face turned ashen, and Harry yelled. "RON? GINNY? LUNA?"
"Shut up Harry!" Hermione hissed, spinning on the spot, a tremor in her voice betraying her fear. "They'll hear you!"
The Death Eater with his head in the bell jar, his head reverted to a baby-like state, flailed dangerously on the desk, legs floundering in the air, which Hermione was forced to duck under. Footsteps grew louder, coming towards them and Hermione realised, her heart sinking, that Harry had given away their location.
"Come on!" Harry urged, them forward, leaving the baby-faced Death Eater, thrashing on the desk. They sprinted towards the door that stood open at the other end of the room, which would take them back, into the black corridor. They were halfway there when two more Death Eaters burst into the room. Harry veered left and Hermione and Neville followed, into a small alcove, facing a small door. Harry yanked the door handle, pumping it up and down, but to no avail.
"Alohamora!" Hermione cried, and Harry tried the door again. Evidently the spells on the door were too powerful for the spell.
"DUCK!" yelled Neville as a flash of green light jettisoned over their heads, striking the stone above, reducing the stone it struck to dust. The two Death Eaters tore towards them and Harry pushed Hermione and Neville away from the doorway as they dashed back down the room, away from the Death-Eaters, back towards the lone time-turner.
"WE'VE GOT POTTER-, " One of the Death Eaters yelled as they backed into the corner, wands outstretched, and his voice mad with triumph.
Hermione flicked her wand at him, "Silencio!" Cutting the Death Eater's speech short, although he continued to mouth words, no sounds emitted from the mask. The second Death Eater shoved the first aside, raising his wand, as Harry shouted,
"Petrificus Totalus!"
The Death Eater's limbs snapped to his body, and he toppled forwards at Harry's feet stiff as a board, and leaving him utterly incapable.
Hermione looked at Harry, "Well done, Ha-" The first Death Eater, whom Hermione had silenced, made a slashing movement with his wand, causing purple fire to erupt over Hermione's chest, agonizing pain spreading across her chest, rendering it difficult for her to breathe, her ribs popping. She gave a small "Oh!" of surprise, took a slight step backwards, and crumpled against the wall.
"HERMIONE!" Harry cried, as Hermione crumpled backwards, sinking back against the wall. Or so Harry thought she would. As Hermione struck the wall, she sank through, into it, her body becoming fainter, more vague, an outline as the bodies and voices that had past before were.
"HERMIONE!" Harry fell to his knees beside the wall, scrabbling at it, clawing desperately trying to reach Hermione, where she lay. His hand sank into the wall, and Harry tried desperately to grab Hermione, but his hand would go no further - he couldn't reach her, no matter how he hard he tried. Panic began to set in, tendrils creeping across his mind, a deep set fear began to take hold. Would any of them get out of there alive?
"HARRY!" Neville crawled towards Harry, his wand held in front of him. The Death Eater kicked out hard at Neville's head, snapping Neville's wand in two and his foot connecting with Neville's nose, which broke with a loud crack. Neville howled in pain and retreated clutching his nose.
Harry twisted round, his reverie broken as he heard the cracking noise, wand outstretched. The Death Eater had removed his mask, and with a jolt of horror Harry recognized him. It was Antonin Dolohov – the man responsible for the murder of the Prewetts, recently liberated from Azkaban.
Dolohov smiled, a predator's triumphant grin, and gestured threateningly towards the prophecy, himself and Neville, making his meaning perfectly clear – the Prophecy or the boy's dead.
"And we both won't die when I hand it over!" Harry spat defiantly grasping the prophecy closer towards him. He could still see Hermione vaguely, beyond the wall, lying motionless – if he could just get rid of the Death Eater…
Harry edged towards Neville, clutching the prophecy still more tightly.
"Don'd gibb it do him!" Neville muttered fiercely, blood streaming from his nose, dripping off his chin, and grasping the fragments of his wand. "Don'd you dare gibb id to him!"
A thundering crash echoed round the room, distracting Dolohov momentarily, and he turned his head – the baby-faced Death Eater had rolled off the desk, limbs still flailing and wailing dreadfully. Harry seized the opportunity granted him.
"PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!"
The spell struck Dolohov whilst he was turned, and, unable to counter it, he toppled over his companion, as stiff as the Death Eater before him, unable to move except for his eyes, which dashed frantically from side to side.
"Hermione!" Harry knelt by the wall once more, plunging his hand into the wall, trying desperately to reach her, but his hand would not move any further and try as he might, he couldn't touch her.
"Harry, she'd gone." Neville crawled over to him. "She disappearded indo the wall."
"I can see her!" Harry said desperately, all thoughts of escape from the Ministry fled from his mind. "She's still there - I can touch her!"
"Whad about the others?" Neville asked, as a scream reverberated in the distance.
BIZARRE MATERIALISATION IN MINISTRY
Enoch Bullard
Rumours are abound of bizarre happenings within the Ministry of Magic, involving the appearance of someone within the deeper levels of the Ministry.
"Yes it's very mysterious and unusual, but I can't talk about it, so stop asking me questions," was the response from a Ministry official, who refused to give his name or speak further as he exited the ministry last night.
The breach in the Ministry's security has raised concerns about the power of the Ministry– if it cannot guard it's own headquarters, can we trust it to guard our nation?
This sentiment was echoed by many prominent members of society, who have great influence within the Ministry, who, normally privy to the workings of the Ministry, have been left in the dark.
Our source commented - ' It's all very strange. It's being kept very quiet and anyone who knows anything at all about these bizarre happenings isn't saying anything.'
Ministry spokeswizards have refused to release the information gathered on the individual and, a growing number of the wizarding community are coming to believe that the individual is in Saint Mungo's. The staff at Saint Mungo's have refused to comment thus far, going as far as to threaten the reporter if investigation continues.
Patients within the hospital have had to sign a confidentiality contract, further raising suspicions that the individual in question (cont page 3, column 2)
The wizard reading the paper laughed. "What a load of bull!" He addressed his companion, as he threw the newspaper into a bin.
His companion rolled his eyes. "It's by Enoch Bullard, remember?"
"Good point!" the wizard laughed further. "Now d'you fancy a pint of firewhisky down at The Leaky Cauldron?"
"Sure." The second wizard nodded. "Aren't you going to read anymore of that?" He nodded his head towards the newspaper, which lay in the bin beside them.
"Why bother? Everyone knows The Prophet makes it all up!"
The two wizards strolled up Diagon Alley, leaving the newspaper, lying in the bin, the picture of the harassed looking individual facing downwards.