Chapter Text
It started as all things start (at least those that are bound to go horribly wrong) from a moment in time where you stood still, mind racing and the seconds slowing by as if ridiculing you as one significant thought sunk into your sorry-excuse-of-a-brain: oh shit.
For Harry, and no doubt for Draco or Malfoy as he'd called the git earlier, it was one such moment that ripped their lives apart once and for all.
For starters it was such a hassle of things gone wrong one more couldn't possibly hurt any more, right? Or that's what Harry thought when he stumbled upon the must-be-death-eater in the boy's bathroom only to find him there crying.
The Draco Malfoy Harry knew would never cry.
But this one very clearly was doing just that. And then the pale-blonde went and noticed it wasn't done without company.
Well sure, Harry would have perhaps gone bonkers, too (the summer of fifth, hum hum) had someone caught him in one of his bad moments. Probably more so if that someone was Malfoy, sure. But still he found it hard to justify said encounter if he greeted said Malfoy with hexes and jinxes that quickly turned to unforgivables.
Because that's what it had been. That red light starting to form on the tip of Malfoy's wand, aimed at Harry. So of course he had panicked. And went and used the one curse he knew not did what. And of course it was one that would slash the opposing person's chest open so they would bleed to death.
Because why the hell not?
This was the Chosen One, the venerable Harry Potter!!
Let's go and give him some more trouble, the boy sure needs it!
Why not make him a killer, too, as it somehow just so fits there to add to his ever growing guilt..
But in this mess, this horrible, bloody mess, there was one factor no one had thought possible. It was something that made the final call for Time itself to add to it all.
An innocent Time Turner hanging by the neck of Draco Malfoy, unseen before but visible now among the red cuts all over his pale skin. A feast before Harry's horrified eyes, cut open by his own curse and - spinning madly. Gold freckles caught in the red blood and grains of sand littering the floor but still it spun joyfully, extending a blinding glow to Harry who had somehow gone to crouch by the side of his laying nemesis.
Because why the hell not?
Let's whisk them away for good Time thought.
It's not like there ain't any trouble left there.
No-ohohohouu
And then it laughed a good belly laughter that rang in the air (along with Moaning Myrtle's horrified scrieks) as the Time turned around the two messed up boys, whisking them away to somewhere far away while so close at the same time.
To another Hogwarts they went, one running in the momentous year of 1943.
Harry fell down to the ground with a crash and a shout, his book bag dropping as he stumbled once the spinning abruptly ended.
His head was still spinning madly, though.
It wasn't such a bad thing to be honest, as it now gave orders that were needed in the situation more than the things running through his heart. Things like guilt and horror and stillness. Those would have been the ones to end one Draco Malfoy's life. But since he wasn't thinking clearly, his instincts took over and Harry bellowed with full lung capacity: "Help! Someone help!" Before crouching down and trying to stop the blood flowing and - the thing he thanked his coddled mind for later on - vanished the remains of the Time Turner. Admittedly that was because they were on the wounds and no doubt hurting Malfoy.
Hurrying footsteps preceded the arrival of someone to the exactly same bathroom before the spinning and the lights. Truth be told, in this moment, Harry still believed he was in the same time as they'd left behind. However, that was not the case as he noticed the moment a tall, dark haired boy opened the door with a frown marring his face and a wand held in his hand and his features slowly registered in his mind.
"Help! Please help! I don't know any counters to this curse.." Harry pleaded for help, hands covered in Malfoy's blood only to stop short when he saw exactly who it was that hurried into the room without giving anymore thought to Harry and instead focusing on the bleeding boy and running his wand over the wounds, sealing them after a short interval of deciding the best course of action.
But Harry couldn't be happy about that as all he saw were dark curls hanging over handsome features he knew from memories, not actual meetings. It was Tom Riddle. The same as in the pensieve, the same as in the diary. The same one trying to kill him with the basilisk whose bite-marks he still bore on his arm. How could that be? Maybe it was someone other? It had to be so, Harry swore to himself, because there was no longer Tom Riddle, only Voldemort. The young boy had been dead long ago, replaced by an insane sociopath.
"Tom! Where'd you- -Oh!"
Another voice sounded by the door and Harry's head turned to look at the new arrival. Impeccably groomed pale-blonde hair and clear light blue eyes made his stomach turn in discomfort. The man looked like Draco far too much to be an accident. It had to be a Malfoy.. one who wore Hogwarts'school robes. A sick feeling settled itself in Harry's belly, twisting and turning as his mind came to a conclusion he didn't like one bit.
There was only one use for Time Turners after all..
So, somehow, his curse had taken them to the past, to a time when... Tom was still a student. A manipulating, powerful student. One who was saving Malfoy's life right about now. Harry didn't know should he feel thankful or angry. So he went with worried and stood up, looking at Draco's disheveled body that wasn't thankfully bleeding anymore and said: "We gotta take him to the hospital wing."
His words gained the attention of dark brown eyes that lifted to meet his.
"Yes, we should", Riddle said slowly, now looking Harry up and down with eyes that Harry didn't like. They were distrustful and wary. "Who are you, though? I've never seen either of you."
Harry swallowed and answered with a haphazard: "You can't know everyone, I'm sure.." And went to lift Draco's body up with a spell Hermione had taught him not long ago. God bless small mercies..
Riddle would have no doubt said something had the other blonde not exclaimed in shock when he stepped further into the bathroom. Harry turned to him to find the young man's eyes on Draco's face rather than his body as Harry had first thought would be the case. Oh damn.. This was going better by the minute..
"How- Whoa! What happened here?" the Draco lookalike asked, finally taking in the state the other boy was in.
"An accident-I really gotta run to the hospital wing now", Harry said and prepared to run from the scene when he turned to look the young Dark Lord in the eye and smiled as brightly as one could when escorting an unconscious.. not-friend.. to be treated, "Thank you, Tom? Wasn’t it? I owe you one!"
The words took a lot from Harry but were something he had to say. Because he was grateful. Without Tom here today, Harry would have become a killer. The mere thought sent a nasty feeling down his body and he shivered while running the familiar corrridors with Draco Malfoy of all people with him. Together the two of them had travelled back in time and - according to Harry's knowledge of those dangerous little things - one was needed to go back, too.
Pity theirs was first smashed to bits and later vanished...