Although that line of thought felt a little forced, divination really did pair strangely well with something as inexplicable as a Time-Turner.
More importantly, the keywords Trelawney had drawn from the tea leaves fit this year's plot far too well.
Leaving aside the clown, that unknown thing Leonard still had no idea about, the ominous black dog and the curse of despair were both things he could more or less identify thanks to his knowledge of the plot.
The black dog hardly needed explaining. It was obviously Sirius Black, whose Animagus form was a black dog. As for the curse, that was a bit more abstract. It was probably Remus Lupin, burdened by the curse of being a werewolf.
A werewolf and a dog. Was that supposed to be the circus? But that category felt a bit too narrow.
And then there was the one remaining unknown. The clown.
Leonard kept mulling over the connection between the prophecy and the note right up until class ended, when one of his roommates, who was also taking Divination, snapped him out of it.
"Leonard, are you all right?" Ernie came over and asked worriedly. "You looked pretty awful just now. Is it because of what Professor Trelawney said?"
"Don't worry, Leonard. I heard from the older students that Professor Trelawney loves scaring people with her prophecies. Every year she predicts some student's going to die," Justin added as he came over to comfort him.
Leonard appreciated the concern, but he really did not need the reassurance. The looks people around him were giving him were already strange enough.
"Thanks, but I'm not worried about Professor Trelawney's prophecy. I'm just thinking about something else," Leonard said casually. "I've got something to do. See you later."
He stood, packed up his things, and left the Divination classroom.
That class had basically been a waste. He had not taken in a thing the entire lesson. He would have to go back and read more later to reinforce the material.
But the priority now was making up the Ancient Runes class he had missed.
Leonard entered a secluded bathroom. Before going to Divination, he had specifically locked one of the stall doors from the inside, just in case using the Time-Turner made him suddenly appear in front of some lucky person in the middle of using the toilet.
He climbed into the stall, sat down on the toilet, and took out the Time-Turner hanging around his neck.
The pale golden, pocket-watch-shaped alchemical device rested quietly in Leonard's hand, its intricate inner workings almost mesmerizing to look at.
"One turn is one hour..."
Leonard picked up the Time-Turner and started turning the outer ring.
As the ring spun around again and again, Leonard felt the air around him solidify, wrapping him up like amber.
The world around him blurred and distorted, as if seen through frosted glass.
Just as Leonard thought the trip through time was about to end smoothly, the light around him suddenly dimmed, and he heard a crisp sound, like glass shattering.
He instinctively looked up and saw a gigantic tree stretched across the horizon, its enormous branches piercing through space, bearing fruit that looked like galaxies gathered together.
"The World Tree?"
Leonard stared blankly at that enormous tree, but the moment he spoke, the scene collapsed, and he found himself still sitting on the toilet inside the bathroom stall.
Leonard looked around blankly.
"I... did it work or not?"
He instinctively reached for the watch, then suddenly realized that since it had come with him, it probably would not help him judge the time anyway. So he simply opened the stall door to go outside and check.
Instead, another note came drifting slowly in front of him. Seeing the familiar handwriting, Leonard's brows drew together.
Another note in his own hand.
"Not every person or object can pass through time. Something destined to be unique cannot exist twice at once."
Reading the words on the note, Leonard's tightly furrowed brows eased a little.
So he could not go back into the past because he was carrying something that was destined to be unique?
Leonard thought for a moment and quickly landed on the most likely suspect.
The Ancient Sprout. This plant, which had been with him for half his life, came from ancient magical ruins. After Leonard had strengthened it, it could indeed be called one of a kind.
But then what was that thing that looked like the World Tree?
Surely the Ancient Sprout could not actually be related to the World Tree, could it?
Impossible. When he had enhanced the Ancient Sprout back then, there had been nothing related to the World Tree among its enhancements.
Leonard held the note in silence for a moment, then crushed it into ash with a pulse of magic in his hand.
For now, figuring out exactly what on him counted as a unique existence was not the important thing.
What Leonard was really thinking about now was this: if he could not use the Time-Turner, then who exactly was attending classes in his place?
According to Hermione, that person looked exactly like him, except with bandages wrapped around his arms.
Looking exactly the same was not much to go on. The bandaged arms, though, were worth noting.
Thinking as he did, Leonard pulled out the Marauder's Map and tried once again to find more versions of his own name on it.
But unfortunately, he found nothing.
And he did not find any names that struck him as especially trustworthy, either.
The Marauder's Map faithfully displayed the names of everyone within its range. Even disguises made with Polyjuice Potion or Living Wood Vine could not fool that sort of detection.
So what exactly was that thing wearing his face?
Leonard put the Marauder's Map away and sank into thought.
...
At the same time, in Hogsmeade.
The village's peaceful routine had been disrupted by a group of Aurors. Villagers stood in their doorways watching the Aurors busily moving about the village. Some looked uncertain and alarmed, while others complained to the Aurors about the Dementors' recent restlessness, saying they had turned the entire village upside down and made it even livelier than weekends when the students came down.
Nymphadora Tonks walked into the Hog's Head and met the pub's owner.
"Mr. Aberforth, right? Do you remember the last time you saw Mundungus?" Tonks asked carefully.
This was Tonks's first field assignment as a trainee Auror. Thanks to some favoritism from her seniors, she had been given the chance to experience Auror work on her own before officially becoming one.
Aberforth, standing behind the counter, looked up at Tonks in surprise and asked,
"You're an Auror?"
Pink hair, and clothes far too unconventional even by wizard standards. She did not look anything like someone in a serious profession like the Aurors.
"That's right. Is there a problem?" Tonks raised an eyebrow.
"No, nothing. I just didn't expect someone as lively as you among the Aurors." Aberforth lowered his head and went back to wiping a glass. "You're asking about Mundungus? Has he gotten himself into trouble again? Damn it, I should've banned him from the pub forever."
"Trouble? No, you've got the wrong idea. He didn't get into trouble." Tonks scratched her head.
"He's dead."