"A Time... Turner? You can reverse time?"
Even after a brief explanation, she couldn't quite wrap her head around it.
If you go back to the past by reversing time—does the present stay the same? Or does the present change as much as the past does?
And if the past had already been changed, why did Carina Malfoy remember nothing?
She stood there with a puzzled expression, and Harry nodded as though he understood perfectly.
"You'll get it once you've been through it."
Harry opened the lid of the pocket watch in his hand. Inside, instead of clockwork hands, a small hourglass glittered with pink sand. He carefully took hold of the hourglass and approached Malfoy.
"Here. Come closer."
"What? Why?"
"You have to."
Harry draped the necklace around Malfoy's neck. He extended the chain, then stepped in closer and looped it around his own neck as well.
The two of them were now sharing a single necklace.
"Huh?"
"Get ready."
Caught off guard by Harry Potter's sudden proximity, Malfoy startled and shut her eyes without thinking.
A moment later, she felt as though the world had flipped upside down and gone hurtling away. Her heart hammered in her chest, and her ears went so numb that all sound vanished—.
"You can open your eyes now."
Strangely, Harry Potter's voice came through perfectly clear. Malfoy cracked her eyes open.
He was removing the necklace with a blank expression, tucking the hourglass back inside the pocket watch.
"We've gone back to the past. Three hours."
Only then did Malfoy understand why they'd had to share the necklace. Both of them had to wear it together to travel back. There was no other meaning to it.
The embarrassment arrived a beat too late. While Malfoy stood there with a flushed face, Harry Potter explained.
"The Time-Turner. A device that reverses time. How many turns you give it determines how far back you go. It was originally Hermione's, but I borrowed it for a special occasion."
That was also why he'd been spending so much time with Hermione, Harry offered—a justification that wasn't quite a justification. Malfoy said curtly:
"Why did Granger have this thing in the first place?"
"Arithmancy, Divination, and Muggle Studies all meet on the same day at nine o'clock."
"And?"
"She wanted to take all three. Professor McGonagall wrote a special letter to the Ministry to get this for her."
"She's... insane."
Malfoy's jaw dropped at the sheer audacity of the idea.
Arithmancy, Divination, Muggle Studies. All electives she could easily live without. And for the sole reason of wanting to attend every single one, she was reversing time?
"You're reversing time for something that trivial? The Ministry has no sense either. They actually permitted the use of a time-reversing artefact for something so inconsequential?"
"Precisely because it's that inconsequential, they permitted it. Using it to alter something of real consequence—someone's life, for instance—is strictly forbidden. Very strictly."
Harry shoved the Time-Turner deep into his pocket and continued.
"And the stricter the rule, the greater the thrill of breaking it. Like us, right now. We've come back three hours into the past, and we're going to save our past selves and Sirius."
"...I didn't come along with any intention of saving anyone. You begged and pleaded until I had no choice but to follow."
"Right. I'll keep that in mind."
Harry replied with casual indifference and pressed his ear against the door. Not a sound from outside.
"We can't afford to be seen by anyone if we can help it. Especially not by ourselves. If our future selves come face to face with our past selves, there's no telling what variables might emerge. We need to make absolutely sure that past-you and past-me don't notice present-us."
"In that case, something I picked up might come in handy."
Malfoy drew herself up with a touch of smugness and produced the Invisibility Cloak and the Marauder's Map from inside her robes. Harry looked at them with an expression of someone trying very hard to make sense of something.
"Those should have been with Professor Lupin. Why do you have them?"
"I found them in Professor Lupin's office."
"That can't be right. I'm certain—"
Harry paused, then picked up the Invisibility Cloak. With a practiced motion, he spread it open and brought it to his face, inhaling.
The scent. The very cloak Malfoy had been running around wrapped in until just moments ago.
A flustered Malfoy lunged forward.
"What—what are you doing?!"
"What do you mean, what am I doing? It's my Invisibility Cloak. What's wrong with the owner checking on the condition of his cloak?"
"Why are you checking it by smelling it?! There are other ways!"
"Ah, this smell."
Harry nodded as though he'd just identified something.
"It's fine. Your sweat doesn't smell that bad, actually."
"You absolute—!"
Thwack. Thwack. Harry took two solid punches thrown with full force and didn't so much as flinch.
Instead, his expression hardened, and he spoke with the look of someone working something out.
"Malfoy. Under normal circumstances, both of these items should be with Professor Lupin."
"When I walked into Professor Lupin's office, there was no one there—just these two things sitting neatly on the desk. As if they'd been arranged there for me."
That was Malfoy's version of an explanation—a justification for having taken them on her own initiative. But Harry Potter hadn't said it to blame her.
"Right. We must have put them there."
"We?"
"Yeah, meaning present-us must have left them there for past-you, for Malfoy, because that's what had to happen for us to—"
Harry trailed off and grimaced.
"This is getting too confusing. Constantly saying 'past-me' and 'present-me' is making my head spin. Let's settle on names."
"I'm not confused in the slightest, but if you are, do as you like."
"All right. Then past-me is Potter, and past-you is Malfoy. Present-me is Harry, and present-you is Carina."
"Whatever you— what?"
By his own proposal, Carina would have to call the Harry Potter standing right beside her Harry. That much she could manage—but the problem was that Harry Potter would also be calling her by her first name.
In truth, she wasn't sure why it should matter so much. She wasn't Voldemort, and the Slytherin students called her Carina all the time. With a reasonable degree of familiarity, there was nothing wrong with using first names.
Perhaps that was exactly why she was so reluctant to grant Harry Potter the same privilege. They'd been rivals clashing at every turn, and now, at this late stage, he was manufacturing reasons to call her by her name?
That kind of opportunism didn't sit well with Carina.
"You understand, don't you, Carina?"
Harry said her name as if confirming it. Carina snapped her head away and said:
"F-fine, do as you like..."
"Good."
Harry finished speaking and drew the Invisibility Cloak around them both. It wasn't particularly wide, which meant Carina had no choice but to press in close to Harry.
Standing side by side, Carina noticed for the first time that Harry had grown quite a bit taller.
She was fairly certain the gap hadn't been this pronounced last year. Somehow, Harry's head was now a good half-hand above hers. He could probably look straight down at the top of her head.
His whisper brushed against her ear.
"Carina, let's head to Professor Lupin's office first."
"F-fi-fine."
"Fine, right?"
Carina and Harry moved carefully toward Lupin's office, taking care not to collide with anyone. As they walked, Harry laid out the situation so far.
"Hermione and I had been trying to catch Peter Pettigrew. On the surface, we were pretending to be absorbed in homework and Quidditch practice, while using the Time-Turner to search Hogwarts from top to bottom. Whenever we ran into someone, we said we were looking for Ron's rat—which wasn't entirely a lie.
We left the Marauder's Map and the Invisibility Cloak with Professor Lupin. While we returned to the dormitory at night, Sirius wearing the Cloak and Professor Lupin carrying the Map kept watch over the castle. Sirius and Crookshanks remembered Pettigrew's scent and were monitoring the outside, so he had no chance to escape—he was slowly withering away inside. He couldn't have held out much longer.
But somehow he found out. He lured Ron in and took him hostage, then drew us in after him. To a place swarming with Dementors."
Carina recoiled in horror.
"Weasley was stupid enough to follow that rat?"
"It wasn't Ron's fault. We hadn't told him—we were afraid of the shock. How do you tell someone that the pet he's lived with for twelve years is actually a wizard in disguise, and the man who betrayed my parents?"
But Carina had seen Ron Weasley setting rat traps with her own eyes.
Weasley had heard the rumour that his friends were searching for his rat, and on his own initiative had built traps and gone looking for Scabbers himself. To spare his friends the trouble.
Harry caught her look and exhaled.
"You're right. It was our fault. We should have told him. At the very least, we should have warned him that there might be danger."
"Save the regret for when it's all over. Right now, we don't have time for it."
The sharp rebuke made Harry nod with a wry, self-deprecating tilt of his head.
"You're right, Carina. What matters is now."
"R-right."
"Yeah. Let's go. Carina."
"...R-right."
Just then, at the far end of the corridor, past-Malfoy came into view, carrying a vial of potion. Without a word between them, both held their breath and watched.
Seeing yourself move—not in a mirror, not in a portrait—was a profoundly strange experience. Carina pretended not to care and studied herself from the corner of her eye.
The set of her clothes, her hair, her gait, even the unhurried grace of her hands. The Carina Malfoy of every ordinary day.
Viewed from a third-party perspective, there were one or two minor points she might refine—but on the whole, it was very nearly perfect.
'Naturally. I'm always prepared.'
She didn't let her guard down just because the corridor was empty. Even the way she knocked and stepped inside was impeccably composed.
Carina smiled with quiet satisfaction and whispered:
"This is where I realised Professor Lupin was a werewolf and asked him about it."
"So you figured it out in the end."
Harry clicked his tongue softly.
"I expected someone would catch on the moment Snape assigned that werewolf essay. It nearly derailed the whole plan. The saving grace was... that no one at Hogwarts—except Hermione—is conscientious enough to actually submit an unfair assignment."
Carina's pride stung slightly, and she muttered:
"I did the assignment too. I just had other things on my mind at the time—the dog, not the wolf."
"Fair enough."
At that moment, the door swung open without warning, and past-Malfoy came striding out into the corridor.
All poise and dignity had vanished. She was broadcasting her fury with every footfall, stomping and seething as she went. Hair dishevelled, composure shattered—anyone watching would have seen someone in a state of extreme agitation.
So that was what she'd looked like coming out.
Carina couldn't bear to watch and turned her head away—just as Harry asked urgently:
"Carina. Where is Malfoy going? That's not the direction I'd be."
Carina was the one who was puzzled. She distinctly remembered storming off in a fury, then catching a glimpse of Harry disappearing around a corner and following him.
Around the corner, down the stairs, along the corridor beyond. She had tracked his trail until she finally caught up with him on the ground floor.
When Carina told him this, Harry looked baffled.
"That doesn't make sense. I never came up here today. I should be near the ground floor right now."
He got that far, then something clicked, and he stepped quickly out from under the Invisibility Cloak.
"It was me."
"Harry! Where are you going?"
"That wasn't Potter. It was me! I'll draw Malfoy away. Go down to the ground floor and wait for me there!"
With that, he deliberately made noise as he rounded the corner. Past-Malfoy, who had been glancing around in search of someone, spotted Harry and immediately broke into a chase.
It was a rather undignified sight. She ran down the corridor without the slightest concern for how she looked—hair flying, robes rumpling, eyes wide and wild as an animal's.
Not knowing anyone was watching.
Carina could not bring herself to keep looking, and took the opposite staircase down to the ground floor.
When she arrived, Harry was already bounding down the stairs. Carina lifted the edge of the Invisibility Cloak and gestured; Harry dove inside.
Fully concealed beneath the cloak, Harry caught his breath in ragged gasps.
"Hah. You're surprisingly fast, you know that? I was sprinting flat out near the end and you almost caught me. How have you been living like that all this time?"
"...That's not Carina. That's Malfoy."
"Ahem."
Harry stifled a sound behind his hand. A moment later, past-Malfoy came tumbling down the stairs, breathing hard, head swivelling in every direction—until she spotted past-Harry Potter, Potter, standing with Hermione in the distance, and made straight for him.
The moment just before the ugly scene.
Carina said quietly:
"That is Malfoy. Remember that clearly."
"Yes, yes, I know."
Malfoy bore down on Potter and began shouting loud enough to rattle the corridor.
Hurt, indignation, and—jealousy. She poured out everything that had been building up, half-clinging to Potter as she did.
It was fortunate no one else was passing by. If anyone else had been watching, Carina might have died of shame on the spot.
Potter kept trying to look away, then glanced toward Hermione Granger, and Granger sighed with the air of someone who had truly run out of options and stepped in.
"Here comes the climax."
Harry's whisper made Carina flinch. Because this was her own past, she knew exactly what was about to happen.
Carina said quickly:
"D-don't look."
"At what?"
Harry replied at his leisure.
"Watching calmly is sometimes necessary to preserve the present."
"What do you mean, watching calmly—you already know everything that happens!"
"Actually, I don't remember it very well. The Dementors drained quite a few of my happy memories. I really should watch closely... from as near as possible."
"Liar!"
Thanks to Carina's desperate resistance, Harry couldn't get any closer. But that didn't mean the scene was invisible.
Malfoy shouted something at Granger; Granger fired back; and just as Malfoy, unable to contain her fury, was about to spit out that word—the one she should never have said—
[Shut your mouth, Malfoy.]
"That's not me, that's Malfoy..."
Potter's voice rang out at precisely that moment. Unable to watch any longer, Carina covered her face with her hands.
Through the gaps between her fingers, past-Malfoy looked utterly naive and foolish. Caught off guard by a sudden kiss, she offered no resistance whatsoever—just stood there, dishevelled and helpless, blinking.
Carina finally turned away entirely.
"...Don't talk to me for a while."
Harry shrugged and watched in silence as Malfoy fled with a scarlet face.
Granger stood with her mouth hanging open, looking back and forth between Potter and Malfoy, while Potter undid one button and steadied his breathing.
It occurred to Harry, just then, that he was glad Carina had covered her eyes. Because at this moment, even Potter's ears had gone bright red.
Some time later, Carina muttered with a grim expression:
"Right... it wasn't just you and me. Granger was watching too..."
She got that far, then drew her wand.
"I need to erase her memory... Obliviate..."
"Ah, no. Absolutely not. Hermione would never forgive anyone who tampered with her memory."
Harry gently took Carina's hand and lowered it. Her hand was trembling—with embarrassment, with mortification.
"And I'm sorry, but from here on you'll need to focus. Professor Lupin will be here any moment."
The words had barely left his mouth when Professor Lupin came sprinting down the stairs, the Marauder's Map in hand. He looked exhausted from the run, and called out urgently:
"Harry, Peter Pettigrew has appeared. He's heading outside the school grounds with Ron! We have to find them now!"
Potter and Granger's expressions went rigid. They rushed toward Lupin. He was close enough now that their voices carried clearly to the two beneath the Invisibility Cloak.
"And Miss Malfoy? Weren't the two of you together just now?"
"She went back to the dormitory just a moment ago."
"What? I thought I saw you both together... I must have been mistaken. In any case."
Lupin led Potter and Granger forward. Carina and Harry held their breath and followed.
"When I checked the Map in my office, I saw Weasley and Peter Pettigrew leaving together. If this continues, Weasley is in danger. We need to get Sirius and give chase immediately!"
"Ron— this is serious. I'll go get Professor Dumbledore!"
Granger suggested it, but Lupin shook his head.
"No. Professor Dumbledore is away on some matter. Fortunately for Peter... no, not fortunately. He clearly planned this for a time when Professor Dumbledore would be absent."
"And conveniently, the full moon renders you incapacitated as well."
Potter said it in a voice that had gone cold and flat.
"He timed it perfectly. And he chose Ron, who knew nothing... We walked right into it."
"Yes... he always had an uncanny instinct for finding the moment when others were most vulnerable..."
But, Lupin began, and a look of quiet satisfaction crossed his face.
"It seems he didn't know about the Wolfsbane Potion. Having taken it, I transform into a docile wolf... and a wolf is far better than a man at catching a rat. Tonight, he will be caught by Sirius and me."
With that, Lupin stuffed the Marauder's Map carelessly into his coat pocket.
At that instant, Harry—who had been holding perfectly still—gave the Invisibility Cloak a sharp tug. Carina matched his pace at the signal.
Harry and Carina moved quickly until they were almost directly in front of Lupin. Close enough that a careless swing of his arm would have touched them. Carina tensed involuntarily.
Without a trace of hesitation, Harry reached out and swiftly plucked the Map from where it was sticking out of the pocket.
For a brief moment, Harry's silhouette flickered into view in the corridor, then vanished.
"Hm?"
Potter seemed to sense something off and looked around, but Lupin urged him on before he could investigate further, and he followed. They went out through the main doors to find Sirius.
Harry watched his own retreating figure and murmured:
"So that's how it happened."
Harry unfolded the Map. It was identical to the one Carina was holding—the same object, existing in duplicate at the same moment in time.
Rather like Harry and Carina themselves.
"We need to put this on Professor Lupin's desk. The Invisibility Cloak too. Because these items are precisely what present-us arranged for past-you—for Malfoy—to find."
Carina, who had now grasped the structure of it, gave a slow nod.
Everything she had taken for coincidence until now was, in fact, a chain of cause and effect that Harry and Carina had forged themselves. Like legs kicking beneath the surface of still water—constant, unseen motion producing its results.
The present she had lived through was the best possible outcome, built by their future selves coming back to shape the past.
What Malfoy needed to do now was reproduce that outcome.
Harry looked at Carina with an expression of absolute seriousness.
"There's something I need to know now. Carina. How did you know to come find me and Sirius when we were in danger?"
Carina drew a sharp breath. Her gaze drifted slowly to Harry's hand.
On Harry's ring finger sat a ring that was the twin of her own. It was the other half of the Status-Sharing Rings—the pair that Crabbe had taken, claiming she'd dispose of them.
She'd said she'd handle it herself, and then gone and done exactly as she pleased, apparently passing it along to Harry.
...Carina had half-expected as much, but still. She'd done something she hadn't been asked to do, and Carina fully intended to give her a sharp word about it.
"Ah, well."
Carina fidgeted with her fingers inside her pocket, slipping her ring finger just barely—barely—into the ring. With a poker face that gave nothing away to Harry, she glanced sideways at the ring as though it were nothing.
Harry's ring flushed faintly, briefly, pink.
In the same instant, Carina yanked her finger out and exclaimed:
"I don't know!"
"What?"
Carina spun on her heel.
"I'm not obligated to share every detail of my private life, am I? It's my privacy. I'm not telling you!"
"Wait. This is genuinely important."
"I'll make sure nothing goes wrong, so be quiet!"
Carina walked away in long, purposeful strides toward the Slytherin dormitory. Harry hurried after her.