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Minerva had lived a thousand lifetimes before she had arrived on this very planet. A little far from earth for a one-way trip, but well, what else was she going to do with her time. It had looked interesting enough to her predecessor when the ship had initially sailed, and now she could only move forward from the previously made choices.
And now earth and all the magic that came with it, were so far away that they seemed like nothing more than a faraway dream.
The star-ships sailed by, their sails easily catching the drifts made by the cosmos as they set sail to unknown destinations. Once, in another life, Minerva would have jumped at the mere suggestion she would be allowed to join one of those, on their journey to beyond the stars. But now she knew better. Or well, she knew herself better. One of the perks of never starting over like so many of her friends had done over the years.
Now that she thought about it, it had been quite some time since she met a Dumbledore or Tom. But maybe they were simply waging their wars on another planet, halfway across the galaxy from where she had travelled to. That must surely be it. After all, could it truly be possible for one of them to ever truly disappear from the flows of time?
No, she must have simply missed them when they were present. And it wasn't as if they could find her. Her name mightn't have changed in millennia, but her face was seldom the same. And apart from that, they weren't the ones who would remember her.
It was hopeless to believe anyone but herself could change the flow of this story.
It had been the reason, the whisper in the back of her head, when she had initially set sail to this planet. Minerva had heard rumours that this planet held a treasure beyond imagination, and though the power to travel to any place in the universe was quite useful, it was not the thing she was after.
There had been rumours, no less than rumours, there had been a suggestion; made by a less than trustworthy fellow in the depths of the underworld near Benbow, that the Captain had gotten his hands on something resembling a time-turner. Supposedly it was a one-trick pony, and was never used by the Captain during his life, and thus must still be part of his famed treasure.
Minerva hadn't had any issues finding the mythical planet once she had gotten her hands on the Captain's notebook (it had cost her a life, but well, she had those to spare). After that it had been getting on the right ship before disappearing among the stars. Once arrived on the planet, it had taken some time to find the treasure (no conveniently placed X somewhere on the ground, but then it would have been too easy, and boredom had become her greatest enemy a long time ago).
And now, after millennia on the road, she held the whole universe in the palm of her hand. And she did not have a single clue as to what to do with it.
-
The sunrise and sunset were a true marvel while so close to the stars. Something she was certain she would never tire off. And a convenient distraction from her problems. The time-turner was burning a hole through her hand, she wanted to use it, it wanted to be used by her.
But how should she.
Should she go back to her life from before everything had gone to hell?
Should she use it to say goodbye one more time to her friends of old? The ones she hadn't seen for so long that she barely dared to believe she still remember them.
Should she use it to go to one of the pivotal moments in history and change it for the better? It would be a morally just decision, but then, which one was the most important.
Should she be selfless or selfish?
Go back or forward, and see the tapestry of time turn to her demands.
And what about that last, but oh so interesting option? Bring someone back from the dead to her present.
Minerva had no idea what to do, and no friends to ask for guidance. She was more than old and wise enough to make decisions on her own, but sometimes it was so freeing to lay that power in someone else's hands.
She twirled the time-turner between her fingers, watching the dying light of the sun be caught in the metal of the device. The choice was all hers, no one would know what she had decided, what her options had been. And even then, there would be no one who could judge her in any way that would hurt.
With a flick of her finger the time-turner started spinning.
Faster.
And Faster.
And Faster.
Gold flaking falling off it with every pulse of the device.
Until it all stopped and the time-turner fell apart and landed with a dull thud on the ground.
The whirling vortex that had been created by the time-turner was still glowing and generating the energy necessary to change the flow of time. The sound coming of it reminded Minerva of the Hogwarts Train straining to start moving the hopeful new students on their way to their new life.
Everything stopped all of a sudden, and for one moment Minerva feared it had all been for nothing. But then a form began to materialise in the place the vortex had been, and she knew it had worked.
"It's been a long road, getting from there to here. But my dear, it has been more than worth it."
The woman fell into Minerva's arms and she knew that, even if it would only be for a moment, everything would be alright.