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Riddled In Time (discontinued, rewriting as 1942! Please go to my page)

Chapter 6: Chapter 6

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

6  

 

Mae sat in bed playing with the locket she’d stolen about an hour before, thinking back on the talk she had with Bobby. 

After sprinting back to her common room, she found him sitting on a very inviting couch in front of the fireplace, his body twisted to face the entrance with a book and quill in his hands. She dashed over to the sofa and immediately started explaining what had happened in Dumbledore’s office before Bobby could ask any questions. At first, he too, was slightly confused. Though after some thinking, he began rationalising it to Mae. 

“He was probably just tired.”, “Maybe he didn’t care, he is Dumbledore after all.”, “If he asked for your house, he’ll probably deduct some points and it’ll be over with.” Bobby tried to explain. 

Mae didn’t believe a word of it. She assumed it would probably lead to more detention, maybe even exclusion, and forced herself to come to terms with it. 

So now she sat, an hour after the events of Dumbledore’s office, contemplating what she would do with the locket she had accidentally stolen. 

It took a bit of self-convincing before she came up with a slightly plausible explanation. 

Maybe he’ll just forget about it. It can’t be that important if it was sat in an old box. ’ Mae thought. This was the story she chose to convince herself was the truth, as her eyes were beginning to feel heavy and she needed to sleep. So, she stuffed the locket into her bedside drawer, shuffled under the covers, and shut her eyes.  

 

The morning after Mae woke up considerably later than she normally would’ve for breakfast. All of the rest of the girls she shared her room with had already left and gone down to breakfast half an hour earlier. Hurriedly, Mae threw her robes on, brushed her hair messily, grabbed her wand, and took one last look at her bed to remember anything she’d forgotten. Scanning it over, she glanced at her bedside table and remembered the stolen locket.  

I can’t just leave it there. But if I’m caught with it, I don’t know what I’ll do. Oh whatever. ’ she thought to herself, running up to the stand and snatching the locket, hiding it in her robe pockets. She took a deep breath and patted where she could feel it in the patch of her robes, and set off downstairs, trying to act normal and not suspicious in the slightest. 

Mae practically ran through the castle to go meet her friends to discuss what would happen to her, bumping into her sister El when turning the corner that led to the Great Hall.  

“Mary! Where have you been? I’ve been looking for you all morning. You’ve really done something stupid now, I can’t believe you.” Eleanor said, almost screaming at her. 

People passing them in the halls stared as they walked by. 

“What do you mean? How do you know?” Mae said, panicked. 

“Of course I know. There are rumours all over the school. Merlin, I know you can cause trouble but I never thought you’d take it this far. I wrote to mum and dad about it as soon as I heard, so expect a letter. I also asked to speak with Dumbledore about it and he agreed to after breakfast. You’ll have to come by the way.” Eleanor said. 

“Is it really that big of a deal? And why write to mum and dad or speak to Dumbledore. Just say it was a mistake.” Mae pleaded with her sister. 

Eleanor scoffed and pushed past Mae, whispering about how sneaking out like that is going to get her expelled, and that she should be glad that her sister is trying to help her like this. Mae rolled her eyes and entered the Great Hall, finding her friends in the mass of students and walking over, seating herself in between Bobby and Victoria. 

“I mean, come on. Why write to my parents? Merlin knows I’m being punished as soon as I step foot into my house at Christmas. It’s not like what I do is going to affect her grades.” Mae complained. 

“She’s probably trying to do what’s best for you. Who knows, it might even help your case.” Bobby said. 

“So you do think I’m being expelled then?” Mae sighed. 

“No! Course not, I just meant maybe it would make Dumbledore feel bad for you or something. I dunno.” Bobby spluttered.  

“He does. We both do. Sorry, just didn’t want to give you false hope.” Victoria cringed. Bobby pressed his lips together and looked down. 

At that moment, Eleanor’s pigeon-owl swooped into the Great Hall and landed in front on Mae, a red envelope with a letter inside cut to look like teeth in it’s beak. She immediately turned bright red and Bobby and Victoria cringed at the sight of it. Others laughed and snickered. Shouts of, “GO ON! OPEN IT!” echoed around the now anticipating hall.  

It was a Howler. Mae had no choice but to open it and get it over with, so she lifted her shaking hands and opened the seal. 

The letter opened its mouth, floated mid-air, and began its speech. 

“MARY FARON BOARDMAN! WHY ON EARTH WOULD YOU SNEAK OUT TO THE FORBIDDEN FOREST. I DON’T GIVE A WHIT IF YOU THOUGHT IT WOULD BE FUN. YOU’LL PROBABLY BE EXPELLED FOR THIS, AND ME AND YOUR FATHER WILL NOT BE WELCOMING YOU BACK HOME. YOU’D BETTER FIGURE SOMETHING OUT!” Mrs Boardman screeched down Mae’s ears.  

“Now dear, be rational. Mary, I hope you know we are extremely disappointed. Go along with whatever punishment you get without complaint, even if it is exclusion. You’ll be lucky if it isn’t.” Mr Boardman said, calmer than his wife though still stern.  

The Howler then blew raspberries at her and exploded in her face, sending the entire Great Hall into a fit of laughter. Both of Mae’s friends had a concerned look on their faces and simply stared at her, waiting for a reaction.  

Mae rested her head on the table, banging it as it landed, and closed her eyes. Bobby and Victoria nodded in sympathy and patted her shoulders, telling her it wasn’t really that bad. 

Now she was truly ruined. It couldn’t get any worse. 

Mae then realised she had contradicted herself when she opened her eyes and looked around herself just to see her sister approaching her. 

“Come on. It’s time to speak to Dumbledore. You can wait outside because I know you’ll just make it worse.” Eleanor said. 

“Why do I have to come if I don’t even get to enter his office.” Mae asked, her head in her hands. 

“Out of respect. Come, or we’ll be late.” El ordered, almost dragging Mae off of her seat. 

“Alright! Merlin, you’re so pushy.” Mae groaned, standing up and begrudgingly following her sister to her likely doom. 

 

Ten excruciatingly long minutes had passed. Ten minutes of the beady eyes of the gargoyle staring back at Mae, mocking her. She was definitely going to be expelled, maybe even worse, have her wand taken? 

Mae couldn’t stand it. She could feel her palms were sweating while fiddling with each one of her fingers until they ached, a usual habit of hers. Deciding she didn’t want to ruin her hands the same she did with her chances at Hogwarts, she pulled out the locket and started fiddling with this instead. Assuming Dumbledore already knew about it, she wondered what the point in hiding it was now. She started inspecting it a bit to distract herself. 

Maybe it’s something to wake you up. It makes sense, there's a sand timer.’ She thought to herself. 

Mae put her arm back down and started to fiddle again, not distracted anymore and hit with a wave of dread. Feeling a small notch to turn, she wrapped her thumb around it and kept turning for a few minutes when it seemed to do nothing, nervously watching the door. 

She stopped the moment she could hear voices coming from behind the stone entrance, and straightened herself. 

Then, her sight started turning blotchy, and she could only see a blur of colours and some shapes floating around her. A sensation she could only describe as flying backwards on a broom overcame her for a few seconds, before she could see normally and fell still. The shock of what just happened to her caused her to let go of the locket, sending it crashing to the floor. Mae felt all around her body, bewildered and unsure of what just happened to her. Looking down at the now shattered locket, she silently scooped up the remains and put them in her pocket, to hide any evidence. 

Did someone just jinx me? What just happened to me? Merlin’s beard, I think I’m going crazy. This stress is seriously not good for me. El will be sorry when she hears I’m going loopy! ’ Mae thought. 

Gathering herself, and looking up for the first time since she dropped the locket, she realised no one had come through the door when she’d heard voices some seconds ago. There were also students that she didn’t recognise staring at her. Mae knew she wasn’t incredibly popular, but she prided herself on at least knowing quite a few names. It was strange, but she didn’t think about it for too long. So, she stood awkwardly, waiting for her sister and Dumbledore still. From the corner of her eye, she could see a man with auburn brown hair she didn’t recognise approaching her. 

“Miss? What are you doing here? Who are you?” the strangely familiar man asked her, warmly. 

“I’m waiting for Dumbledore and my sister, she requested a talk with him, who are you?” Mae said, a bit annoyed by his questions when they’d only just met. 

“Well, I am Dumbledore, are you sure you’ve got the right person? I’ve never even seen you at Hogwarts before, which is strange. How long have you been attending?” the strange man inquired. 

“What? How could you be Dumbledore? Dumbledore’s all old and has a long beard. You’re definitely not him, but I am definitely waiting for him. I’m a fifth year.” Mae responded, chuckling slightly at how confident he sounded saying such a ridiculous thing. 

“I can assure you that I am Professor Dumbledore, and that I’m not old. How did you get here?” he replied, looking slightly concerned. 

“I’ve been waiting here for ten minutes; someone must’ve seen me. Ask anybody who’s passed and they’ll tell you.” Mae said, more annoyed now, wanting to focus on the fact that she’s being expelled. 

“What did you do in them ten minutes?” he asked, a particular glint in his eye that Mae must admit reminded her a lot of the real Dumbledore. 

“All I did was wait, and someone must have jinxed me a few minutes ago, because my vision went all colourful and I felt like I went flying backwards. I might go and tell a teacher about that now actually, so if you’ll excuse me.” Mae replied, now aching to get away from the weird Dumbledore impersonator.  

“What? What did you just say? Please follow me. This could be important,” he said, taking her by the arm and dragging her into a small cupboard next to them, “Were you holding a golden locket the moment this happened? Did you turn something on it? Did these symptoms occur after you stopped spinning it?” he said, not taking a single breath. 

“Well yes, and I have no idea how you know all that but none of that is important. I might be getting expelled and you’re spewing this rubbish-” Mae whispered. 

“Not in this timeline. Please focus,” he said, staring at her, “What I’m about to tell you will shock you but I’m going to need to you listen and give no reaction. When I tell you, you are going to be silent and follow me to my office and we will discuss everything there. I promise to answer every question you may have.” the man said, looking genuinely worried. 

“What do you mean in this timeline? Do you think I’m stupid?” Mae shouted, sick of him now. 

“I believe you have travelled back in time. I’m not sure how many years, but I know it has to be at least two decades. The locket you were holding was a time turner. I am Professor Dumbledore. Who you are seeing now is the young version of who you have in your mind. Now do as I instructed.” he whispered, opening the door and setting off to his office, making sure Mae followed suit. 

“I can’t believe you’re making this all up. What are you, a creep? Dragging me into a cupboard? Really? I’m leaving.” Mae said, though she was stopped before she could open the door. 

“The year is 1943. Go out and ask anyone. I know this is far too much to handle, but I recognised the symptoms you said and I just had to check. You also seem to be convinced that I’m an old man, and the headmaster. I can promise you that I am Dumbledore. Please cooperate, it’ll be easier for the both of us.” he said, in a final attempt to convince her. 

Mae’s stomach dropped and she was automatically sent into shock. She didn’t want to move, didn’t want to breathe, didn’t want to follow this strange man she wasn’t sure she could trust. How could she even be sure that he was telling the truth, it was utterly ridiculous. Quickly scanning through all her options, she realised that he was unfortunately her only way of getting answers, so she forced her stiff legs to follow him silently and teary-eyed. 

 

When the two arrived at Dumbledore’s office, Mae was shaking. She couldn’t believe she had time travelled; it just wasn’t possible. This had to be a stupid joke for Mae sneaking out to the forest. To get back at her or something, probably El’s doing. 

“Before we start asking questions, I must warn you not to tell me any information other than what is essential. It could cost people’s lives, and we wouldn’t even know. The first thing I must know is what year you are from.” Dumbledore said. 

“1995.” Mae barely spoke, her voice hoarse from crying. 

“You must’ve turned it hundreds of times, if not more. Do you have any idea as to how many times you could’ve spun it? As a matter of fact, where on earth is the thing?” Dumbledore pressed. 

Mae guiltily tucked her hand into her robe pockets, and showed the contents to Dumbledore, trembling.  

“It’ll take months to fix. Maybe even up to a year, more I suppose. We’ll have to come up with a fake backstory for you to get by here. You’ll spend holidays here-” Dumbledore said, taking the broken time turner first, and then scrambling about the room, picking up tools, several books, and pieces of parchment, before Mae interrupted him. 

“A year? More?” Mae sobbed, not being able to hold herself together, “How will I see my family? My friends? Everyone will think I’m suspicious. I can’t do this.” 

“I would’ve hidden you if you hadn’t been spotted by students already. It’s just not possible. We’ll say you’re a transfer student from America. Your father got a job opportunity there before you started Hogwarts, but you grew up in England so you still have an English accent. You came back because your parents missed home, and you wanted to attend Hogwarts for your last few years.” Dumbledore said, spewing lies like it was the easiest thing in the world. 

“No. I won’t do it. How do I get back home.” Mae whispered, crouching down and sobbing into her robes. 

“Do you have a name preference? And of course, your parent’s names to, your blood status, and birthday. Just in case anyone asks. Oh, and which house were you in before?” 

“Hufflepuff.” Mae said, sniffling, now looking up at Dumbledore. 

“I suppose you don’t have a name preference. Your parents will be Laura Blankley and Devin Blankley. You are an only child. You are Paige Blankley. Your birthday is July 28th 1926. You’ll be in Slytherin, as its most unlike your house back home. You’re a pureblood. Oh, and a middle name. Are you sure you have no preference?” Dumbledore said, writing this information down as he spoke. 

“I like the name Mary.” Mae blurted out, trying not to look suspicious. 

“Miss Blankley, please wait here while I inform Headmaster Dippet of an unexpected exchange student. I am sure he will be happy to welcome you here at Hogwarts. One moment.” Dumbledore said, handing her the parchment filled with the contents of Mae’s new identity, before rushing to the headmaster’s office. 

 

I can’t believe Mary. I put so much effort into her not being expelled, she better be grateful. ’ Eleanor thought to herself. 

“Thank you for letting me speak to you about my sister, headmaster. I really hope you take what I said into consideration. She really is a good student. She has top grades; she's never caused trouble like this. Honest.” Eleanor said. 

“No worries, Miss Boardman. I will escort you down now.” Headmaster Dumbledore replied. 

Both Dumbledore and Eleanor made their way over to the stone wall, waited for it to open and descended down the stairs, and exchanged some niceties. They then waited again for the second stone wall to open and for the gargoyle to step aside, only to be greeted with an empty hallway. 

“Mary?” Eleanor said.  

Notes:

It’s been a whole month since I uploaded, big apologies. I really don’t have an excuse this time, I just hope this chapter was enough to make up for it. I finally feel like the plot is moving along now! I hope you enjoyed it.

Also, did you like the little addition of Eleanor’s POV?

Thank you for reading!!