Without asking too many questions, we followed the headmaster. Lady Greengrass looked at the headmaster's right hand a couple of times, but it was clearly an illusion - the hand looked healthy.
It only took us a couple of minutes to get to the hospital wing. As soon as we opened the doors, we were literally bombarded by the noise of painful moans and groans muffled by the spell. Twelve beds were occupied by students with injuries of varying severity, and from the looks of it, they were in a lot of pain. When I looked closely, I was surprised to recognize them as Slytherin students, including Malfoy, Nott, Crabbe, Goyle, and others from the sixth, seventh, and fourth years. The headmaster, however, led us further, to yet another door.
"I'll tell you right away, Mr. Knight," the headmaster spoke. "Miss Granger is just as okay as Mrs. Greengrass's girls, but she only agrees to talk to you."
We went through the next door, behind which there were more bunks, and around a small patch against the wall next to the window there was a large white screen, covering this place with itself. We came to it exactly.
"Poppy, may we come in?" the headmaster asked, and our healer's head immediately popped out from behind the screen.
Madam Pomfrey took a quick look at us, acknowledged us, and nodded, letting us in.
There were two beds and bedside tables with jars of potions and ointments. Astoria was sitting on one of the beds, with a marble-pale, calm face and stroking the head of sobbing and shuddering Daphne, who was hugging her. Hermione was rushing around with a disheveled mop of hair, and for a brief moment, I even thought that it wasn't her at all — there was so much undisguised anger in her eyes. As soon as she saw me, she was right next to me and hugged me, quickly pulling away. Her eyes softened a little.
"You said, "she spoke," to show you this and tell you: «Not before Cruciatus. Control yourself.» I have no idea what that means."
Hermione pulled a parchment out of her robe pocket and handed it to me. Accepting it, I unfolded it and began to read.
"I don't understand anything."
"It's for protection against Umbridge," Hermione explained. "I don't know the whole point, but she threatened that for the harm caused to a lot of pure-blood wizards, the Muggle-born would be given hell."
"May I ask?" the headmaster turned to me. It was at that moment that Astoria and Daphne saw their mother, and Delphine sat down on the bed beside them, and now Daphne was sobbing, burying her face in her shoulder.
"The apprentice-master contract," I answered the headmaster. "Between Hermione and me. But I only just-"
"Be quiet, Mr. Knight," the headmaster interrupted me. "I think I'm beginning to understand... Miss Granger, can you tell me exactly what happened?"
"Only that," Hermione's face became calm, but anger splashed in her gaze now and then, "that You-Know-Who decided to send greetings to us all, and these idiots were too confident in their exclusivity and impunity."
"You mean you put all those guys down?"
"Not just me, but I can't say more. Not now."
I waved my hand around, creating a spell to test the protection against Taboos. The headmaster clearly understood the meaning and looked at me condescendingly.
"Just in case," I replied to that look, and the headmaster nodded.
"But I'm sorry," he said. "What does it have to do with you, and young Miss and Miss Greengrass?"
"Through me to teach Max a lesson..."
"And through us," Astoria spoke quietly. "To show Mother the error of her unwillingness to cooperate with the Dark Lord."
"So..." the headmaster thought for a moment. "Mr. Knight, please follow me. If I understand this correctly, we don't have much time. Mrs. Greengrass. I assume you wish to stay with the girls?"
"Certainly, Headmaster."
The headmaster nodded, muttering: "It's amazing how history can repeat itself." He went out behind the screen, and I followed him, and my head was spinning with thoughts one worse than another, but the words: "Only bruises and scratches" calmed, even if a little.
We left the hospital wing at a brisk pace, and in a couple of minutes, we reached the headmaster's office, where it was twilight, and only a few soft yellow lights illuminated the space. It took a few more minutes for the headmaster to find a box somewhere in his stash, which he approached me with, opening it as he went.
"Here you go, Mr. Knight. I always knew it would come in handy sooner or later, but I didn't think it was for something like this."
In the open box lay a locket in the shape of several thin rings, one within the other. In the middle of these rings was a circle with an hourglass.
"This is the Time-Turner," Dumbledore explained, taking the artifact from the box and setting it aside on the table. "A powerful artifact. Powerful and dangerous. I would like to tell you a lot about it, but I'm afraid that time is an unacceptable luxury at the moment."
The headmaster gleamed his half frame glasses in the semi-darkness of the office, handing me this artifact.
"We will have to limit ourselves to a quick briefing. Do not get caught in the eyes of yourself, and ideally — no one at all. Be extremely careful. Put on the chain."
As I put the chain around my neck, I looked at the headmaster. He was clearly calculating something, but it didn't take him more than a couple of seconds.
"I think two turns will be enough. Now, I'll head back to the hospital wing. I hope you know, Mr. Knight, that the gargoyle likes pistachio cream these days?"
"She has specific tastes," I nodded as a sign that I understood.
As soon as the headmaster disappeared behind the office door, I rotated the Time-Turner mechanism twice. Something is rotten in the state of Denmark …