To avoid consuming too much time energy, Charlie unhesitatingly crushed one of the time-turners in his hand and used his own magic to compress the bursting time energy.
With a crisp snap.
The violent time energy blasted open a tiny crack once again.
But this crack was extremely unstable; the surrounding space was like viscous asphalt, crazily squeezing the two of them, trying to stop them from leaving this banished dimension.
Charlie quickly divided the remaining six time-turners equally, handing three to Hermione.
"Hang them around your neck."
Hermione took the time-turners, her fingers still trembling slightly.
Charlie glanced at her: "You must stay close to me. Once the energy runs out, we will be trapped here forever, until we completely dissipate."
Hermione took a deep breath and nodded vigorously.
The two of them reached out to touch the crack simultaneously.
Their bodies instantly became incredibly heavy.
Charlie felt as if he had been filled with lead; every inch his right hand moved required a tremendous amount of effort.
Inside the time-turners on his chest, the golden sand poured out frantically like a leaking sandbag.
Just by raising her hand, the energy of the first time-turner on Hermione's chest was exhausted, and the golden sand turned dull and lusterless.
She turned her head to look at Charlie, a flicker of panic flashing in her eyes.
The light on Charlie's body was also flickering violently, and the golden sand in the first time-turner had already bottomed out.
The rules of this dimension were repelling them from leaving, and the rate of consumption far exceeded expectations.
Hermione gritted her teeth and forced herself to keep moving forward. Every step was like struggling in a quagmire, and the surrounding space kept squeezing her body.
The light of the second time-turner began to dim.
Hermione's breathing became rapid; she could clearly feel the energy draining away at high speed.
The crack was right in front of them, but the distance felt like an unbridgeable chasm.
The second time-turner went out completely.
Immediately after, the golden sand of the third time-turner also began to pour out frantically.
Out of the corner of her eye, Hermione glanced at Charlie and found that he also only had one time-turner left. The golden sand in the glass tube was decreasing rapidly, and the light was getting weaker and weaker.
She instantly understood that the energy she had was definitely not enough.
But Hermione did not ask for help.
Charlie only had three time-turners, just like her; even he might not have enough, so how could he possibly support her?
Hermione absolutely did not want to drag Charlie down because of herself.
She stared nervously at Charlie's hand, with only one thought left in her mind—hoping that Charlie could get out.
Although she couldn't get out, being able to see Charlie one last time before completely dissipating was already satisfying enough.
Just as the time energy of both of them was about to be exhausted, Charlie's hand finally touched the crack.
Hermione let out a long sigh of relief, closed her eyes, and prepared herself to remain here forever.
But the next second, her wrist was tightly grabbed.
Hermione opened her eyes abruptly, and Charlie was looking back at her.
"Get out of my way!"
Surging magic erupted from within Charlie, forcing the viscous space open.
Before Hermione could react, she was pulled out of the crack by Charlie.
Space flashed.
The two of them fell heavily to the ground.
Hermione froze for two seconds, then reached out to touch the floor.
A cold sensation came from her fingertips.
She sat up abruptly and looked around.
This was the Library.
The real Library.
Not that world where you could only look but not touch.
"We... are out?" Hermione's voice trembled slightly.
She looked down at her hands and touched the bookshelf beside her.
A solid, real sensation.
Hermione suddenly turned around, hugged Charlie, and vented her emotions loudly.
"We're out!"
She hugged Charlie, jumping up and down, tears streaming down her face uncontrollably.
Charlie patted Hermione on the back gently, calming her down.
After a while, Hermione gradually calmed down.
She let go of Charlie and suddenly noticed that the atmosphere around them was not right.
The students who had been quietly reading in the Library all raised their heads, staring at the front desk with some trepidation.
Hermione followed everyone's gaze and found Madam Pince standing behind the front desk with a livid expression.
Hermione's heart sank; oh no, Madam Pince hated it when people talked in the Library.
"Sorry, Madam Pince." Hermione spoke up quickly.
"I was just too excited."
Madam Pince gritted her teeth: "Get out of here!!"
...
After rescuing Hermione, everything returned to normal.
No one realized that Hermione had ever disappeared.
Ron and Harry discussed Potion Class assignments with her at the dining table as usual, and Neville complained to her that Potion Class was too difficult when he saw her. Even Professor McGonagall only called her name in class, without anything unusual.
Everyone's memories seemed to have been corrected.
Only Charlie and Hermione knew the truth.
Charlie could not help but marvel at the terror of time.
It has no consciousness of its own, but it always acts according to the rules; once someone violates its rules, even the traces of their existence will cease to exist.
If Charlie hadn't saved Hermione, she would have disappeared into that dimension forever, and no one in this world would remember her.
Charlie carefully studied the remaining six time-turners.
The golden sand was all dull, and the time energy was completely exhausted.
This was different from using them normally to go back five hours.
The latter's golden sand was not damaged and just needed to wait for a period of time to replenish the energy. But the former was like having its foundation damaged; several days had passed, and there was still no reaction.
He didn't know if this golden sand could be replaced; if they were completely scrapped, Dumbledore wouldn't settle the score with him, would he?
Charlie muttered to himself.
After this incident, Hermione was reborn.
She now looked at Charlie with different eyes, like a devout believer who had found their faith, spontaneously supporting Charlie.
Even if Charlie said he wanted to attack the Ministry of Magic now, Hermione would follow him into battle without hesitation.
That morning, Charlie sat at the Hufflepuff table.
Hermione was by his side, serving Charlie his meal, taking everything Charlie liked to eat and putting it on his plate.
She even started peeling fruit for Charlie while he ate his main course, preparing dessert for after the meal.
Ron and Harry opposite them were dumbfounded.
Ron muttered: "Harry, am I still not awake?"
Harry rubbed his eyes and looked at Hermione again.
Is this still Hermione?
Was she possessed by a House-elf? Or did Charlie turn a House-elf into Hermione's appearance?
Hermione glanced at the two of them.
Hmph, how could ignorant mortals know the bond between us!
However, she didn't explain anything; after all, such a bizarre encounter was hard for people to believe.
Just then, a ball of flame appeared out of thin air in front of Charlie.
The Phoenix Fawkes flapped its wings, landed steadily on the table, and handed Charlie a note.
Charlie unfolded the note, which read: Bring Hermione with you to my office. Password: Cockroach Cluster.
Charlie raised an eyebrow.
Was Dumbledore finally done?
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