Sealed Memories

"Are you sure this will really work?"

Lying in the hospital bed, Hermione held a delicate little hourglass in her hand, her face full of worry.

Sean, sitting beside her, smiled. "Of course it will—I looked into it. A lot of this is hard to explain, but one thing is certain: this is some kind of disturbance in time. Don't worry. Just do as I say."

Hearing Sean's gentle yet confident voice, Hermione unconsciously let out a breath of relief.

However, as though she had suddenly remembered something, her grip on the Time-Turner tightened, and a faint blush crossed her face.

Sean glanced at the time and said, "It's about time. Remember the location I gave you. Just come back here a day later—of course, if everything goes smoothly, I should be able to see you outside the ward shortly."

Hermione nodded. "Turn it twenty-four times... What happens if I turn it too many times?"

Sean considered it. "Nothing much. Time-Turners were generally used for three or four hours at a time, but there used to be many of them. With so many people using them, everyone had to be more careful. Things are different now, though. I don't even know how many people still have a Time-Turner in their hands. Honestly, I'm surprised you managed to get one."

Hermione pursed her lips. "I didn't expect the Head Girl's Common Room storeroom to still have a Time-Turner left over from before. It was probably from a time when there hadn't been many large classes, meant for outstanding students who had chosen lots of electives—though when I went to hand it over to Professor McGonagall, she actually said I could use it personally."

Sean merely smiled without saying anything. Professor McGonagall understood as well that a single Time-Turner was useless in