The Cycle of Fate

Vague colors and shapes filled the space, and everything around them changed rapidly.

Ivan's eyes widened. He desperately wanted to know what had happened to this place since he left, whether Hermione had made it to Hogwarts Castle safely, and whether the Dementors had caught up with them.

However, the changes around them happened so quickly that Ivan could only see a large number of shadows falling from the sky and scattering.

Occasionally, a few vaguely shaped creatures passed by, but more often than not, it was the changing of day to night.

After what seemed like an eternity, things settled down and Ivan was able to move again.

He looked up at the sky and saw that it was already evening. Ivan knew that he had returned to a normal time. He remembered that it was evening when he first used the Time-Turner.

"I wonder how Hermione is?" Ivan sighed.

Ivan's guess was that the Dementors were after him and Hermione in the Forbidden Forest.

Otherwise… Ivan looked at the Time-Turner in his hand, hesitated, and decided not to use it.

He decided to check on the castle first. If everything went well, Hermione would be back by now.

With that in mind, Ivan took out the Marauder's Map and tapped it with his wand.

"I solemnly swear I did no good!"

Fine lines of ink suddenly appeared on the blank parchment, spreading like a spider's web to every corner of the parchment, creating a map clearly marked with names.

Peter Pettigrew snores in his room, Ron and Harry in the common room, and Dumbledore safely in his office.

As for Hermione…

Yvonne searched and found the name of the witch, who seemed to be moving quickly, presumably to somewhere.

Yvonne used the map to track Hermione's movements as she hurried towards Hogwarts Castle, easily intercepting her in the corridor.

"Hermione!" Yvonne called.

The little witch, who was scurrying around the castle, heard Ivan's voice and turned to him angrily.

"I've finally found you, Ivan! You just used a Stunning Charm on me… it was too much!"

Ivan was taken aback by the witch's angry words, but when he noticed the beads of sweat on Hermione's forehead and the thick book in her hands, he soon realised what was going on.

Before Ivan could respond, Hermione shoved the book into his arms. "I found something in this book that you should read. It should help…"

Yvonne looked down and saw that it was the copy of Secrets to the Dark Arts.

"Thank you, Hermione!" Yvonne exclaimed, not opening the book.

"Let's not talk about this now…" The little witch shook her head eagerly, gesturing for Ivan to turn the pages.

Ivan had only flipped through a few pages, and since he had read all of them, he simply followed them.

When he saw that the book contained a large amount of cruel experimental Dark Magic analysis, he was reminded of a question that he had not had the chance to ask.

"Oh yes… Hermione! How did you come up with the idea of looking up this book? I thought you never read Dark books?"

Hermione hesitated for a moment, then told him about how she woke up to find a note on her bed, then took the crumpled note out of her wizard's robe pocket and opened it.

Yvonne could clearly see the words: Restricted Section…Thirteenth row, ninth shelf…Secrets of the Dark Arts!

Crucially, Ivan recognised Hermione's handwriting!

"Do you remember the question you asked me? What happens when a potion is used on a dead wizard…" Hermione said quickly, then continued to explain.

"I'm not as smart as you are, so I've been going through a lot of books and thinking for a long time without a clue. But if the Time-Turner can go back in time, why not let our future selves tell us the answer?"

"How can that be? You're so much smarter than me… Hermione! Even I couldn't think of such a good idea!" Yvonne exclaimed, looking at the young witch in front of her.

He had never thought of such a novel solution when his research on potions was in trouble, and as Hermione said, with the right calculations, he could get his future self to help him with some of the headaches.

Additionally, Ivan was relieved to learn that Hermione's possession of the note proved that she had escaped the Dementors and returned safely to the castle.

Hermione smiled at Ivan's praise, pleased that her efforts over the past few days had not been in vain. In the end, however, she made it clear that she was just a bookworm and a bit clever.

"Well? Does it work?" Hermione asked, looking expectantly at Ivan.

"Yes, very useful!" Ivan replied, nodding.

"I said I'm sure I can help! Let's start working on it now…" the little witch said confidently.

Ivan, however, did not respond, and hesitated to explain to Hermione…

Ivan's silence gave Hermione a vague feeling that something was wrong.

The little witch's happy face slowly darkened, and she suddenly thought that Ivan might have ended this time trip, and her previous efforts would have been in vain…

"You've finished what you came to do?" Hermione asked, pursing her lips in frustration.

"Right!" Ivan nodded, then looked at Hermione, who was sulking, and smiled. "That's why I wanted to thank you before…Hermin! You've been so helpful!"

"You mean…" Hermione's brown eyes went round and blank as she stared at Ivan, but of course she could hear the awareness in his voice.

It took the little witch a moment to process this, then she said in a panic, "But…but, I haven't done anything."

"So, do you want to take a risk now? It might be dangerous…" Ivan asked as he took off his Time-Turner and hung it around Hermione's neck.

Yvonne had realised that she would never be able to touch her future self unless she sent the young witch away.

Because the time of departure is also the time of return when the time of retention arrives…