"Miss Granger, could you explain why you were not absent from Defence Against the Dark Arts this morning?"
Rhys said with a teasing smile on his face. "Or could it be that you've also mastered the art of making automatons, and even managed to fool Professor White, the very person who made her fortune crafting them?"
Hermione fell silent.
The facts Rhys presented left her with no room to refute him at all.
After a moment, and only after a fierce internal struggle, she told Rhys that she could reveal the truth to him on the condition that he swear to keep everything he saw and heard today strictly confidential.
Rhys froze for a moment, an unpleasant memory surging up in his mind.
It wouldn't be that thing… would it?
As that possibility crossed his mind, Rhys's pupils widened slightly.
Hermione did not notice the change in his expression. She reached into her collar and pulled out a long, thin gold chain from beneath her robes. Hanging from it was a glittering miniature golden timepiece.
Rhys: !!!
So it really was that damn thing!
"Why do you have this?" Rhys asked in shock and disbelief.
How had the modern magical world become so open that even something this dangerous could be handed to a third-year student?
"You actually know what this is?" Hermione was even more surprised than Rhys.
She had thought that a magical artifact like this, one that required professors to write extensive applications just to borrow, was known to very few people. Yet Rhys had recognized it at a glance.
Rhys curled his lips. How could he not recognize this thing? Even though it was now hung on a gold chain, he was far too familiar with the timepiece at the end of it.
Not only did he know what it was, he also knew exactly who had created it.
Rowena Ravenclaw.
She was the one who ultimately perfected the Time-Turner, and also the first to abuse it, leaving an extremely deep impression on Salazar and the other two.
"A Time-Turner. It's mentioned in books," a trace of gravity flashed through Rhys's eyes. He looked at Hermione and asked in a calm yet slightly curious tone, "What do you use it for?"
Hermione did not notice anything unusual about Rhys. She was simply amazed that he even knew about such an obscure item.
"I just use it to attend classes…" Hermione spread her hands, explaining that she wanted to enroll in every course, which had resulted in her timetable getting cramped up....
Rhys: "…"
"You're using a Time-Turner just for that?" Rhys couldn't help asking.
Hermione's use of the Time-Turner felt a bit like how time-stop abilities were used in bizarre comics. Some people could transcend the world with such powers, while others could only… transcend the world in a different way.
Yet this little girl, after obtaining a Time-Turner, was honestly just turning back time to attend classes. At this point, Rhys finally understood why the school and the Ministry of Magic were willing to approve Hermione's use of a Time-Turner.
She was the kind of person suited to wield it.
Even if Fred and George were as studious as Hermione—which was about as likely as zero—Professor McGonagall would never allow the two of them anywhere near a Time-Turner. She probably wouldn't even tell them such a thing existed.
"What else would I use it for?" Hermione asked in confusion. "I applied for it because my timetable couldn't be arranged otherwise. Honestly, this thing is incredibly troublesome. I can't let my past self see me, and I have to make sure I don't expose it in front of my friends. Luckily, I've been pretty fortunate and no one's noticed so far—you're the first, Rhys."
Rhys felt a wave of speechlessness.
Were Ravenclaw students a bit too indifferent toward one another? For Hermione to maintain this situation for half a term without being exposed was honestly rather absurd.
While silently complaining about Ravenclaw's house culture, Rhys kept his outward response perfunctory. "True enough. It's a good way to resolve timetable conflicts."
Rhys did not dare let Hermione think too much about it.
If she ended up discovering some "new way" to use the Time-Turner like her teacher had, that would be a disaster. Experiencing something like that once in a lifetime was more than enough.
It would be best to persuade Hermione to return the Time-Turner once this term ends, Rhys thought to himself.
In the beginning, even Rowena had only wanted to use the Time-Turner to squeeze in more time for reading and magical research, but things had gradually spiraled out of control.
At her most unhinged, she had even attempted to achieve immortality through the Time-Turner, causing endless trouble for Rhys and the other two.
Still, they did not resent her. After all, no wizard could truly resist the temptation of time magic.
Yet this domain was like the golden apple in the Garden of Eden: alluring on the surface, but in reality wrapped around deadly poison.
Even Helga had been brought a thousand years into the future by him due to an accident involving time magic, hadn't she? In the face of time magic, wizards were all like dolls, easily manipulated at will.
"Still, I'm starting to struggle a bit," Hermione suddenly said, without any clear lead-in.
"Hm?"
"It's too exhausting… it's really too exhausting. I'm taking twelve classes at the same time…" The light in Hermione's eyes dimmed, endless fatigue surfacing within them.
Rhys thought for a moment and slid the stamina potion that had slipped to his sleeve back away. That thing treated the symptoms but not the root cause. Any energy it stimulated was merely "borrowed" and would eventually have to be repaid.
"A mature wizard should learn how to skip classes on their own. Some classes simply aren't worth attending." Rhys used himself as an example.
In his view, the truly important, unmissable subjects were Potions, Charms, Transfiguration, and Defence Against the Dark Arts. Herbology barely made the cut—and generally speaking, if you were good at Potions, Herbology would follow naturally.
As for the remaining classes, they were really in a state of being optional, especially Divination and Muggle Studies.
It wasn't that these two subjects were unimportant, but Divination relied far too heavily on talent, while the Muggle Studies curriculum itself had serious problems.
Rhys actually valued Muggle Studies immensely. He was currently devoting himself to researching Muggle knowledge, pouring almost all of his energy into it.
If he were the one designing the Muggle Studies syllabus, he would definitely overhaul the textbooks completely and make the subject compulsory.
In fact, if after graduating he still wanted to remain at Hogwarts as Rhys, he would much rather stay on as a Muggle Studies professor than a Potions professor. Of course, the position of Slytherin Head of House was still something he would contend for. At worst, he could let Severus become Headmaster and free up the position for himself.
In any case, he would never become Headmaster.
Helga was still alive, and Rowena was still clear-minded. He would have to be mad to take on the role of Headmaster.
While Rhys's thoughts drifted, Hermione was thinking.
After a long while, she let out a sigh and expressed her agreement with Rhys's suggestion.
"I think Divination and Muggle Studies really aren't necessary to attend…"
"Then be a bit bolder and talk to Professor Flitwick. After dropping those two subjects, your timetable should return to normal, and the pressure will be much lighter."
"A third of the school year has already passed. Can I really drop courses now?" Hermione looked at Rhys doubtfully.
"Of course you can." Rhys was very eager for Hermione to drop the extra, useless classes, so that she could return the Time-Turner.
Better to have her hand over that dangerous little thing before she discovered the proper way to use it.
_____
12 Chaps ahead at Patreon.com/HornyFBI