The Malfoy Project

𝟗𝟓 - 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐞, 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐨𝐥𝐟, & 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐚𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐫 (𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐀 𝐂𝐚𝐭)

༻⚜️༺      

     If there is one thing I do not like about the Hufflepuff Common Room, it's that it's much more humid than the Slytherin quarters. It was only the beginning of May, but the sitting area was already baking in the creeping summer heat when Ernie and I emerged from the tunnels.

     It was too warm for us to light the furnace, so Ernie brought out his wand and uttered a spell. A small glowing sphere of light emerged from the tip, growing bigger and bigger like a small balloon until it was almost the size of a Quaffle. It floated into the air and hovered above our heads, bathing us in an icy blue.

     "It'll have to do," said Ernie as he rummaged between the cushions for the bag of weed. He finds it, yanks it out, and proceeds to roll a joint in the table. "So," he said, "want to explain why you have a Time Turner hidden in the lining of your pillow?"

     I said nothing for a minute as I considered how much to tell him. Ernie knows no boundaries when it comes to fixing wrongs. He is like an obsessive repair-wizard too dedicated to his job; the moment he notices something out of place, he latches onto it, refusing to let go until it is put right. If he found out about Ainsley's promise to Montague, he would surely bring it up to her and cause a fuss, and she might never trust me again.

     On the other hand, she hadn't explicitly said it was meant to be a secret — it was I who'd taken the liberty to keep it from her friends. I decided some good might actually come from telling Ernie after all. He is swift-minded and tactful, sometimes too wily for his own good. But he has a solution for everything. He might know a way to get Ainsley out of this mess.

     Once I started talking, it was hard to stop. Desperation and excitement muddled the long stream of words that poured from my mouth. By some miracle, I somehow managed to string together the whole story coherently, and in perfect chronological order, no less. I tell him about the Montagues' hideous secret, Ainsley's new deal with their son, and how the Room of Requirement had given me the Time Turner. Lastly, I told him about my own deal with Montague, which I decided to throw in at the last minute.

     Ernie listened intently, stock-still except to put the joint to his lips occasionally. "Cor," he muttered when I was finally done. He blinked away to the fireplace for a moment and took a particularly long drag, his cheeks hollowing under the ghostly blue light as he sucked in. "You're not gonna' use it, are you?"

     I stared at him. "Of course, I am! This is my way out, Ern. Our way out."

     "Out of what?" he asked, in dead seriousness.

     "This!" I gestured to the air vaguely.

     He looked around, then canted an eyebrow. "Reality...?"

     "No, this... this shitshow!"

     "Not far off from what I just said."

     There was a tone of sarcasm in his voice that I didn't like. He was making it sound like I was being deceitful, as if I was trying to lie or conjure an illusion, when all I wanted was to show him that I finally had something actionable to do. I could help Ainsley. I could finally be happy. This was a mission that was worth my while. My real purpose.

     "If I can change the past, I can make a difference," I tried to explain. "To Ainsley's life and mine."

     "You really think you can do that by messing time?" asked Ernie.

     "No," I said through gritted teeth. "By controlling it."

     The Time Turner sat on the table in front of us, observing our exchange in ominous silence. Ernie's gaze darted to it frequently, as if it might spontaneously explode. He was looking at it so often and with such apprehension that I almost wanted to lunge forward and grab it, in case he tried to take it away from me again. But I reminded myself there was no need to. It had been given to me. I was in control, not Ernie or anybody else.