January 31, 1899

Dear Reader[s],

At the time you receive this letter, it will be decades before my existence. Time is a powerful and mysterious thing, is it not? After a long, tedious search, I have finally stumbled across an artefact of great power: the Time Turner.

I’m not yet aware of its full capabilities, but I send this letter to you in hopes of communicating what I have found. My possession of this Time Turner is already a crime, one that could land me in more trouble than I had previously foreseen. Never fear—the remarkability of this artefact is too intriguing to ignore. Therefore, I may only hope my findings will aid the witches and wizards of our future generation.

The attached pages below contain my research. Under no circumstances should it be shared with anyone other than you. There is no telling what could happen if it got into the wrong hands.

────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──────



Introduction & Creation:
I mark the hours, every one
Nor have I yet outrun the sun.
My peace and value unto you,
Are gauged by what you have to do.

To begin, I’ll give you a description of this peculiar artefact. Those words above are the inscriptions written along the edges of a Time Turner. Time Turners are found latched onto a chain, with a small hourglass in the middle—one filled with a shimmery, golden sand. Most will bear either runes or the original engraving written above. It all serves as a reminder to use the Time Turner wisely.

The exact history of origin remains unclear. I do, however, know about the Unspeakables.

Deep within the Ministry of Magic, wizards fill the Department of Mysteries. Little is known about their workplace, and even less known about their jobs. Yet, different rooms fill that department, including the Time Room. It is said that the Time Room is where a select few of Unspeakables conduct all research of time—in the Wizarding World, at least. It’s also where the Ministry keeps their limited stock of Time Turners, buried underneath many layers of protection.

How It Works:
Time Turners seem to work through a combination of advanced magical enchantments and stabilisation spells, which unfortunately, I haven’t been able to name just yet. It is known that these enchantments ensure that the user will be able to travel back to the past without any major disturbances to the timeline.

So, let’s break it down. First, there is the little hourglass mechanism in the middle of the device. Each turn of the hourglass corresponds to travelling back one hour in time. For example, three turns would be equivalent to three hours back in time.

We also see the gold chain the device is attached to. The user of the Time Turner will use it like a necklace, to ensure that they travel back in time with the device. Once activated, the Time Turner will transport the user back to the exact point they were at originally, but in the past.

Features:
There are certain rules I’ve come to notice that must be followed when the Time Turner is in use. One of them is not interacting with your past self. Anonymity is crucial when exploring the past, for there is no telling what might happen if you run into yourself. After the First and Second Wizarding Wars, it is difficult to trust those claiming to travel from the ‘future’. This rule is put in place to ensure no paradoxes occur, and that the actions made by the time traveler blend seamlessly to their timeline.

Another rule is making sure you have minimal interference. As tempting as it may be, Time Turners should never be used to reverse major events in time. Every change has an effect, and making changes too large will ripple those effects tenfold. It’s extremely unpredictable, and fallout would be nearly impossible to contain if the past is meddled with too deeply.

When it comes to timelines themselves, it's hard to say how the Time Turner behaves, but here is my theory: no new timeline is created when someone travels to the past using a Time Turner. In the Wizarding World, there is only one timeline, where traveling back in time affects the future and has always been an integral part of the original timeline. In other words, change is inevitable when the user returns to the present, and consequences are irreversible. Although, perhaps this may change…

Fun Facts:
1. Time turners, once they became regulated by the Ministry of Magic, had a time limit on them. The user could only travel back a maximum of five hours to ensure safety of the person and timeline.
2. Misuse of Time Turner’s can lead to time loops, where someone is stuck relieving the same events over and over. To prevent this, there are enchantments on the Time Turner to make sure the user gets back to their original timeline/present.
3. Not all Time Turners are identical! Duplicates can be created that allow for longer jumps, but they lack the safety and stability of the original Time Turners.
4. All Time Turners were rendered unusable in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries in 1996.
5. Theodore Nott created a prototype of a Time Turner which would let the user go as far back in time as they wished, however, they would only be able to stay for five minutes. Later, he re-created a ‘true’ Time Turner that could let one stay as long as they wished in the past. There are two of these currently, owned by Draco Malfoy and Theodore Nott.

────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──────

That’s everything I’ve managed to learn so far. I trust this letter finds you, and that it goes a long way in future studies of this artefact. There isn’t any telling what magic I seek next, but I’ll try to keep you informed soon enough, possibly a month from now. Thanks to my Time Turner, I’ll know when you are. Goodbye for now.

Sincerely,

A Fellow Traveler.

Written by Daphne Clarke.
Edited by Sara Rowan. 
Proofread by Ross Geary.