Authors note: This story is for entertainment purposes only. I am not JKR or Warner Bro. and do not own the Harry Potter Universe or her characters and thus I make no money for my endeavors. Here ends the disclaimer. Furthermore, this story is set directly following Deathly Hallows; epilogue ignored. For the purpose of my story Ron has and will continue to remain firmly in the friend category.

All within the castle were battle weary, none more so than the three inseparable friends. Hermione had left them in the Gryffindor common room with the promise of a hasty return but as she looked at the bed longingly she couldn't muster the energy to do anything except crawl onto the bed. She drifted to sleep unfazed by the illumination provided by the morning sunlight which was streaming in unobstructed; the bed curtains long forgotten. The chill seeping into the room hindered Hermione's mind from truly shutting down and enjoying a proper rest. With a half hearted huff of frustration she rolled onto her stomach and buried her face in the pillow to prevent the oncoming headache.

Every inch of her body was sore but the irritation around her neck was ceaseless and preceded the sensation of being strangled so she brought her hands to her throat to remove the offending necklace; strange considering that she wouldn't wear a necklace to battle. As she untangled it from around her neck she glanced down to see what had been the pain in her neck. Even in her sleep addled mind she recognized it as a time turner; with the object deciphered she sat up quickly, but why was she wearing one? Oh yes, she remembered now, when Harry had been missing and Ron was mourning his fallen brother she had crept off to Professor McGonagall office and rummaged through the drawers in search of the time turner that had once been entrusted to her. With the time turner firmly in her possession she thought, "just in case." She didn't doubt Harry or the ability of their side but she was pragmatic and this was war; even great wizards perished during war. She need only look in the Great Hall to realize the absolute truth of her thoughts and that it was better to be prepared.

She gave a faint smile at the magical instrument grateful that she needn't have worried. She sighed and got up with reluctant determination eyes firmly on the time turner held aloft suspended in front of her eyes by way of her left hand, she would never be able to sleep if she didn't return it. So she grabbed her wand off of the side table with her free hand never removing her eyes from the object held in front of her and preceded to leave the girls dormitory for the common room where she was spotted by Harry and Ron who were eating sandwiches and being fused over by Kreacher.

"What took you so long," Ron shouted.

"Hmmm?" was the only reply indicating that Hermione had even heard him; but didn't respond to the proposed question as she hadn't the faintest idea what he actually asked her.

Ron and Harry set their sandwiches down and approached Hermione. As they neared Ron asked curiously, "What are you holding?"

Hermione glanced at her friend and absentmindedly replied, "time turner."

"Um Hermione," Harry stated as calmly as he could because they had begun to descend the stairs that led to the entrance hall, "is it suppose to be moving? Now I mean, rather than when in use…" he trailed off.

Hermione repeated the word "moving" as if she didn't quite comprehend its meaning or why a time turner would do such a thing. Then her sleep deprived mind clicked and she shouted "moving" in a fit of alarm. She had shouted so loudly that a few people emerged from the Great Hall to discover the cause of this new disturbance and to ensure that it wasn't a further threat.

After her screamed declaration she tried to throw the time turner away from her because she recognized with growing horror that it had been moving for some time and she really would rather not show up in the thick of the battle of Hogwarts and get herself killed after surviving it once.

But the time turner was well and truly wrapped around her wrist and she remained trapped. In a state of extreme panic she pulled out her wand with the intension to cast diffindo in order to cut herself free; but Ron pushed her arm to redirect the spell towards the banister so that she wouldn't cut her wrist in her panic. This movement cut into the marble and with barely a sigh of relief she realized the she had to aim more carefully in order to sever the chain while keeping her wrist in tact.

She noticed with annoyance that she had managed to tangle her wand in the chain and in her agitation she attempted to pull her wand free and redouble her efforts; but in her overzealous tug she lost her footing and fell face forward down the remaining stairs; with shouts of her friends ringing in the air and the figure of Mr. Malfoy below who stood observing her fast approaching descent with out bating an eyelash or raising his wand. Just as the crash seemed eminent she disappeared leaving everyone in the room confused and upset; all that is except one Mr. Malfoy.