Narcissa's Time Turner

Chapter 2: Narcissa's Last Wishes

Draco knew that constellation, Cassiopeia, and he knew that name. She was a relative on his mother's side who never married nor had any children. He flipped over the last page and found his mother's handwriting on the inside cover, "bottom left drawer." In that drawer of her desk was a silver key with the Black family crest. He picked up the key and looked around the study for what it would open, and found the key jolted in his hand when he passed the southwest wall. He drew nearer and nearer until the key vibrated in his hand at a particular section of the diamond patterned wallpaper. 

Draco pushed the key into the wall. His mother must have used an undetectable extension charm on a small pocket within the wall's frame, for the key turned in an invisible lock. He pushed hard on the wall, tearing through the wallpaper, and found he had opened a small room with all black walls and grey carpet. Draco whispered, "lumos" as he pulled his wand out of his jacket pocket. 

The only thing in the tiny room was a delicately carved chest made entirely of ivory. It looked to be centuries old, and had carvings of flowers and women dancing with cherubs beside them playing harps and lyres. Draco tried with all his might to lift the lid of the chest, to no avail. Maybe he was getting weaker than he thought, this veela curse never let him rest. He had been up for days, unable to sleep due to the screaming within his mind, but this quest had given him some distraction at least. He looked closely at the chest for a time and found that one of the carved flowers had a long, deep hole in the center. It was so thin it seemed as if only a thread could fit within it. He took some silver wire his mother had around as a reagent and tried to insert it in the flower, but it did nothing. 

Then Draco got an idea. He plucked a hair from his head and slowly pushed it into the hole. The chest snapped open, and Draco shielded his eyes as blinding light consumed the room. When his eyes adjusted to the light, he was not prepared for what he saw. Draco found a time turner inside, but one that was unlike those he had seen in books or secret, exclusive magical shops. The "sand" inside the massive hourglass shone silver-gold, like moonlight just before the dawn. This time turner was as large as his head, and incredibly heavy. 

The metal on either side of the hourglass had a silhouette of a dancing woman with long hair, but on the time turner they spun round ever so slowly, the metal moving around them, swaying in the light from the sand. He found it difficult to focus his eyes on them, but at the same time there was something so familiar about them. This time turner was silver rather than gold, and had words inscribed all along the edges. Had the other time turners had words on them, too? Draco said the words aloud to himself as he turned the massive circles in his hands.

"I preserve my sacred creatures who love to dance, for they would perish without a second chance, my use and power unto you, are gauged by who your mate will choose."

As he read the incantation the women dancing in the engraving seemed to see into his depleting soul, their heads turning to look at him, but returned to their slow spinning dance as soon as he finished. Many faded letters were sprawled across the bottom of the chest. He spread them across his mother's desk, intending to read them, until he found one off to the side that was on much newer paper. It had the silver Malfoy seal, and was addressed to him in his mother's handwriting. Draco held the letter to his face, inhaling the last vestiges of her comforting scent, broke the seal, and began to read.

My love, if you are reading this, you have finally discovered you are a Veela. Your father would not let me tell you this even until my dying breath, because he thought she must be a muggle or a mudblood for you to have been able to resist her call. He believed you would rather die a slow, painful death while preserving the Malfoy bloodline. It is one of the only times I regretted who fate chose as my mate. The Blacks who are oblivious to our secret would agree. I believe you should choose for yourself.

This time turner has been used by Veela of the Blacks for generations. Fate is kind to Veelas, in that we all get to meet our mates at least once. This turner will only work on a Veela, only a single time, and will take them back to when they have the best chance of being with their mate. Pluck a strand of your hair, wind it around the time turner, and turn it three times. Even if you do not use it, I only ask one thing of you. Do not destroy it, for you are indebted to this artifact. You would not exist without this time turner, for I would never have won your father nor would I even exist without it.

Generations ago, a Black and her mate sacrificed themselves to imbue their life essence in this artifact, for they cared for the happiness of their family more than their own lives. If you ever had any love in your heart for our family, you will keep this chest safe, and keep this letter within it. This is the last thing I can do for you, Draco. I wish so desperately for your happiness, and having felt the pain of a mate's scorn I know it is no way to live. I love you more than the world itself.

Draco choked back tears even though his father was not here to tell him to hold them in. Old habits die hard. The veela in his mind piped up, saying yes, yes! Go back and find her, go back and get her for us. Perhaps it had only been quiet this long because it knew all this information would help convince Draco to find his mate no matter what. Draco suppressed the thought while he pored through the other letters. It seemed the time turner had worked for many others in the past, and so the "Fateful Encounter" Draco had read about in his mother's books that all veelas receive at some point in their lifetimes must be true.

Magical creatures were curious things, but if centaurs can see the future and unicorns can make you immortal then it must not be impossible for the veela to be loved by fate. This meant Draco had already met his mate and missed his chance, or else his soul wouldn't be fracturing so soon. She must be hopelessly in love with someone else. He didn't even know her face but the thought saddened him deeply.

The other Blacks all confessed their love to the descendant whom they left the silver time turner to, which was surprising for the Black family, but it seems veela are creatures of love no matter what family they belong to. The letters also all emphasized that the time turner was never to be destroyed. One even said, "to destroy this artifact is worse than murder. Two glorious spellcasters live within. Their wisdom is greater than the greatest wizards, for they have created a new kind of magic that can only be done with the combined power of a fully fledged veela and a Marked mate."

It seemed the time turner was not only a magical artifact but that it was alive. If a horcrux is the splitting of one's soul by killing another to prolong one's own life, then surely the merging of two souls for the purpose of preserving the lives of others by double suicide was the exact opposite. A true selfless sacrifice. Draco wondered if Cassiopeia ever got the chance to use it, and if she had, maybe she had squandered her second chance and doomed herself. The thought was sobering.

His mother, like his father, seemed convinced his destined partner was a mudblood or a muggle because the veela call was supposedly that strong. Draco thought hard, he had never been outside the wizarding world in all his life and so had never seen a muggle. Draco postulated that it can't have been a mudblood he spent much time around or else surely he would have known they were his mate, and only the servants left to run errands. If he used the time turner, he would probably be transported back to some random moment when he passed someone on the street in his adult life, or perhaps when he spoke to an employee at a store.

His mother also mentioned that there were some Blacks who knew the secret within the Black family and some who did not. Veelas were creatures comprised of a base, wild magic. While certainly mudbloods could be born who were great witches and wizards as he had seen at Hogwarts, mixing magical creature blood into wizards on the whole could be earth shattering for the advancement of magic. That time turner which could take one back to whatever moment in time was most fateful broke every law of time magic Draco knew. Since he would likely not be transported back too far, he made a decision. He would use Narcissa's time turner, for his own sake as well as to honor his mother's last wishes.