"Miss Granger, we know that you are feeling terrible right now, but we have to ask you to do something for us," said Professor McGonagall.

"What is it? I'm not answering any more questions, Madame Pomfrey and the healer from St. Mungo's already asked me too many." Said Hermione with more spunk than she intended.

"No, Miss Granger," Professor Dumbledore replied in a soft tone.

"We are asking you to bring Cedric Diggory back to life."

23

"Wh-what?" Asked Hermione, who was confused, tired and very dehydrated.

"Well, not bring him back to life, but make sure that he never dies in the first place," states Professor Dumbledore.

"I- I don't understand. What exactly do you want me to do, because clearly you haven't come to the realization that Cedric is dead, and that we're going to have a funeral for him tomorrow!" Spat Hermione. She honestly wasn't trying to be rude, but it was a very emotional day, and she didn't want to do any more exhausting things or think about Cedric's state at that moment.

"Well, Miss Granger, do you remember what happened in your third year?" Asked Professor McGonagall.

"Obviously, it's very hard to forget. We found out that our teacher was a werewolf, broke into the Shrieking Shack, found out that Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew were animaguses and were still alive, then tried to stop Sirius Black from killing Peter Pettigrew, and then almost got attacked from Professor Lupin, therefore distracting us, hence Peter Pettigrew's escape," she replied matter-of-factly.

"Oh," said Professor McGonagall, clearly unaware of how eventful of her previous year at Hogwarts was.

"Oh yeah, we also knocked out Professor Snape sometime in that night, Ron broke his leg, and me and Harry went back in time to save Sirius Black and from getting the Dementor's kiss, while also almost getting the kiss ourselves- wait. Do you want me to go back in time to save Cedric from getting killed by You-Know-Who?! That's absurd!" She asked in a shout.

"Miss Granger if you would like to lower your voice while talking to me and the Headmaster, it would be kindly appreciated," barked Professor McGonagall.

"Right, sorry Professor." She put her head down in embarrassment to cover her cheeks, which were blushing profusely.

"Good. Now, if you've finished talking, I'm sure Professor Dumbledore would like to explain what will be happening."

"Thank you, Minerva. Miss Granger, we have an understanding that you and Mister Diggory were involved romantically, as he would very loudly mention it, especially around other students and the faculty-" Hermione blushed even more and was hit with a small pang of sadness as she remembered the time Cedric shouted that he was in love with her in front of the whole Great Hall during mealtime.

"-And since you have a lot of impeccable experience with time travel, we thought that you would be our best option to go back and save his life. We still have your Time Turner from last year that you used it to get to your classes and when you saved Snuffles. That is what we would like you to use to save Cedric," explained Professor Dumbledore, accenting the word Snuffles, so that anyone listening couldn't decipher what he was saying, a mistake that Hermione had not caught herself making earlier.

"We have only one problem though," said Professor McGonagall. "We don't want you to save him. We want him to save himself."

"What? How am I supposed to do that? How can I not save my boyfriend from a nearly certain death?" asked Hermione, shocked.

"When you go back in time, you must subtly remind him about how nonverbal shield charms cannot block the killing curse, and only objects can. He learned them both in his classes this year, and from what Professor Flitwick told me, Mister Diggory is quite exemplary at using non-verbal spells. Cedric will think that he will be able to save himself while receiving only a minor injury that will allow him to survive the killing curse, and will allow everything to proceed as normal, but that is not the case. You will need to explain to him that the killing curse is unblockable, as we assume that he tried to block Peter Pettigrew's curse non verbally," explained Professor McGonagall.

"Okay, but why can't I just explain to him that the Triwizard Cup is a portkey, and that they need to hold on until they come back to Hogwarts? Won't it just bring them in a full circle back to where they were? I could just explain to him that if he stays in the graveyard he'll die, and then everything will be alright!"

"And give him the stress and anxiety of knowing that he will die? Miss Granger, you of all people should know that that much pressure can literally kill a man! Honestly, Miss Granger, you have baffled me. I am flabbergasted." Exclaimed Professor McGonagall, throwing her hands into the air as though she were surrendering to the fact that Hermione was no longer one of the smartest students she had ever taught.

"Alright, so I'll just go up to him as usual and subtly remind him about non-verbal spells and shield charms, and that they are absolutely no help whatsoever if he were about to die from the killing curse. And then what? Wait for the tournament to be over?" Hermione snapped.

"Exactly. Once you've finished your task, you should stay out of sight of the other students. They'll wonder why you aren't supporting Diggory and Potter. When time is up, come back here, at eight fourteen. Hopefully, Mister Diggory will survive, and you will gain memories of what your past self experienced after he comes back alive." Said Professor Dumbledore calmly and patiently.

"Okay. How many times should I turn it?" Asked Hermione when Professor Dumbledore handed her the Time Turner.

"Eight turns should do the trick. Make sure you talk to Cedric while he is alone, Miss Granger." Said Professor Dumbledore, calmly. "We have put our faith in you, and we know that you will not let us down."

"Thank you, Professors. I hope you're right. I won't let you down." Hermione put the chain of the Time Turner around her neck and spun it eight times. The room around her spun and she could feel the day getting warmer.

She was going to save her boyfriends life, no matter the cost.