the_debt_of_time

"Yes, sir." She reached beneath the collar of her shirt and removed the chain, lifting
the instrument over her head and holding it out for the wizard to inspect.
"Marvellous," he said with an airiness, as though he were looking at a pretty flower
or a piece of artwork instead of the life-altering device that it was. "I've only seen drawings
of them myself, but not in great detail. I was, however, under the impression that for time
travel to be possible, the sand must move through the hourglass?"
"No, that's not how Time-Turners work. You spin them and then go back a few
hours at most, and then you move until you catch up with your present timeline. The
hourglass is merely a container for the sands of time. I'm not sure if moving them in one
direction or another is what triggers the magic," she said clearly. However, as she focused
on the instrument in his hands, she furrowed her brow in concentration. Dumbledore was
right. The sand in the hourglass was sitting firmly on one side, despite being turned upside
down in his hand.
"Is this the same Time-Turner you used before?"
"No, sir, this one is... it was.. ." She recalled the night she and Remus had gone
into the Department of Mysteries—when they had stepped into the reconstructed Time
Room. She remembered how he appeared confused that she wanted to leave the room,
surprised that it had not been her planned destination. "Remus said he took it from the
Department of Mysteries. It's new. I've never seen one like it before."
"During your very busy third year, did you happen to take Ancient Runes?"
She actually rolled her eyes. As if not taking Ancient Runes was even an option.
"Of course, sir."
"Tell me, what does this mean?" He tipped the Time-Turner to show her an
engraving on the bottom.
It took Hermione only a moment to decipher the rune. "Predestination."
"Something tells me that your Mr Lupin knew what he was doing when he took this
Time-Turner and gave it to you. You seem to be an intelligent young lady who adheres to
the rules quite well." Hermione almost laughed. That was an understatement. It took a life
or death situation plus Harry Potter to get her to break rules. "May I make a suggestion?"
"Sir?"
"Treat this letter as your new set of rules." He held the parchment out to her, and
she hesitantly took it, glaring down at Remus's familiar script.