Chapter One:
"Ronald Weasley, sometimes, I really wonder why I'd married you!" Hermione Weasley screamed at her husband.
"Well, I wonder the same thing, Hermione. Why on earth would you settle for the dirt-poor
Weasel idiot?! It's not like we had anything in common, is it?"
"No, you're right! We have nothing in common!"
"This is all because I got laid off at work, isn't it?" Ron's face was burning red with anger.
"No, Ronald, it isn't! It's because, as you said, we have absolutely nothing in common. Maybe, if you tried to get to know me a little better, we'd find something!"
"Kinda hard, isn't it, when you've always got your nose stuck in a book!"
Rose Weasley closed her eyes, trying to ignore her parents' loud bickering downstairs. It had been getting worse for a while, with mum and her work as a Healer becoming more demanding and stressful, and dad being laid off at the Ministry. Her parents had always had their differences, but wasn't that supposed to be what brought them together? Completing each other and so forth? But as Rose thought about it, she realized that while the Wizarding War brought them together, her mum and dad really had little holding them together. As Rose and Hugo were getting older (Rose being sixteen and Hugo fourteen), and their independence was growing, Hermione and Ron Weasley had really very little to distract them from the stress that defined their life. They didn't need to put so much fuss in their teenage children anymore, and if they had no one but each other, and had nothing in common, it resulted in almost constant fighting. Rose wondered if it'd been such a great idea coming home for winter break rather than staying with her brother at Hogwarts.
Scorpius Malfoy groaned, leaning his head back against the wall as he listened to his parents argue. They tried to keep it quiet, but he heard them anyway.
"You never have time for us anymore! Always at the Ministry or away on business trips, and forgetting about your own family!" Astoria Malfoy complained.
"I am a busy man. I do not 'forget' about my family, as you said."
"Busy? I can see! When was the last time we spent time together as a family? Because I don't remember anything after Scorpius turned five!"
His father groaned in exasperation. "Look, I can't help what my job is-"
"But can't you take a break sometimes? Even when you're not at the office, you're holed up in your study doing paperwork! What about me? What about your son? Don't you care anymore, Draco?"
"Of course I care!"
"Well, I guess our definitions of the word are a little different, aren't they?"
Scorpius rolled his eyes. This argument was literally the exact same every time they had it. He'd almost memorized the lines. He couldn't deny that his mother had a point. His father really did seem to have no time for them anymore. His parents had nothing in common, his mother being all about family, and together time, and whatever, and his father all about work. Was there no medium? No middle ground between them? Surely, if his father were interested, they'd find something to do. Unless he wasn't interested, which of course brought them back to square one. He wished he could do something, but what on earth was there to do?
The next morning was a Monday, so both Rose's parents had to leave early for work, leaving Rose alone at home. She'd already written her Potions essay, as well as her Transfiguration one, so Rose was bored. She remembered that she still had a ton of stuff from earlier school years stashed away in the attic that she hadn't organized, so she trudged up the flight of stairs, opening the trapdoor that led to the attic, and climbed through.
A dusty skylight let in the sun's rays. Boxes were everywhere, each carefully labeled in her mother's neat handwriting. Her stuff was in the far corner. Rose had to duck to avoid the low ceiling. Suddenly, a spider fell from the ceiling right in front of her face. Rose shrieked, stumbling backwards. A box burst open behind her. Cursing quietly, she got up, brushing herself off, then moved to put the stuff back into the box she'd knocked over. She carefully placed a few old schoolbooks into the container, when something caught her eye. It was a photograph, taken before she was born, it seemed.
Her dad, easily recognizable as a Weasley with his fiery hair, had an arm around her mum, and was kissing her cheek while she giggled. They both grinned up at Rose, perfectly happy. Her mum had less stress lines on her face, and her dad's shoulders didn't slouch as they did now. With a sigh, Rose placed the photo into the box. There were more photographs, some with her parents, and some with only her mum or only her dad. Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley were in a few of them, and there were a few group shots with people Rose recognized as Neville Longbottom, her Herbology Professor, along with Luna Lovegood, one of Aunt Ginny's best friends. There were also Seamus Finnegan and Dean Thomas, along with most of the Weasley family. Fred Weasley waved up at her, smirking.
She had gone through most of the contents of the box when a glint caught her eye. It came from a necklace with a strange charm like an hourglass on it, contained in a ring of metal. Rose dusted it off, hanging it around her neck. She quickly swept the rest of the contents of the box back into place, realizing that she'd been up here, looking at old memories, for hours. Her parents would be home soon.
Rose ran back down the stairs to get dinner ready, forgetting all about organizing her old stuff. The necklace was concealed under her turtleneck, and she quickly forgot about it. After dinner, a letter arrived from Albus Potter, asking if she wanted to meet him in Diagon Alley tomorrow. Rose needed a few fresh quills and parchment, so she wrote back her consent after her mum gave permission.
On Tuesday morning, Rose travelled by Floo to Diagon Alley, exiting the fireplace in the Leaky Cauldron. Tapping the bricks in the back of the pub in the right sequence, she stepped out into the busy street. Checking her muggle watch, she found that she still had about a half an hour until she'd have to meet Albus, so she went to get her quills. She was still wearing that strange old necklace, so Rose examined it as she walked. And then she slammed into what felt like a solid wall. With a little shriek, she began to fall backwards, until someone caught her. "Watch where you're going, Weasley," a rude voice hissed. She carefully opened her eyes to find herself in the arms of none other than Scorpius Malfoy. Rose shoved him away, stepping back, her hand automatically going to the necklace, only to realize that it was gone.
Scorpius leaned down to pick up the chain that Rose had dropped. It was a cute thing to have as a necklace, he thought as he observed the little sand particles in the hourglass.
"Give it back,"
Weasel demanded. He looked away from the necklace. The girl's cheeks were flushed with embarrassment at her clumsiness, her eyes were narrowed as she glared at him. He arched an eyebrow, idly thinking that she looked rather nice in the sweater and leather jacket she was wearing, even though it was clearly hand-me-down.
"What is it?" He asked her, lifting the necklace out of her reach. She jumped for it, even though she had no chance of reaching the thing.
"None of your business, Malfoy. Give me back my necklace!"
"And what if I don't? It's a strange thing, isn't it? Looks rather old."
"What does it matter to you?" She crossed her arms, giving up.
"It really doesn't matter. What happens if you turn the hourglass?"
The girl's eyes widened in alarm and she grabbed his arm, opening her mouth to warn him or something, but it was too late.
There was a whirl of shapes and colors around them. And then, everything was absolutely still. He opened his eyes to find his arms around Weasley again they were in some sort of office.
Odd machines made of silver gleamed and whirred all around, and at a desk sat a very old man with a long silver beard and piercing blue eyes peering at them over half-moon glasses. Rose Weasley gasped, staring at the man. " children?" He questioned kindly.
"But you're, you-" Rose was stuttering.
"I am Professor Albus Dumbledore, my dear child. And you two are?"
"Rose Weasley," Weasel answered politely. "And he's-"
"Scorpius Malfoy."
"You must be Mr. Draco Malfoy's son, then? And you, hmm, Hermione and Ronald's daughter?" The man's eyes twinkled in amusement.
"Yes, sir, only… what year is this?"
"1996, Ms. Weasley," he answered.
Weasel's eyes widened and she looked faint. Scorpius, meanwhile, snorted. "It can't possibly be 1996. What, did we travel back in time? We shouldn't even be born!"
"I believe you two have just accidentally discovered the function of Hermione Granger's – well, to you, Weasley's – Time-Turner."
"You mean, this necklace?" Rose held up the piece of jewelry we'd been fighting over just a few minutes before.
"Yes, Ms. Weasley. That is a Time-Turner, used by your mother to fit extra classes into her schedule during her third year. This is your parents' sixth year, by the way. Your mother's fifth," the last part was motioned in Scorpius's direction
"Wait, so, if this is a Time-Turner, then can't it just send us back?" Scorpius asked.
"And, shouldn't it only be able to bring us back, at most, five hours, rather than more sixteen years into the past?" Weasley added.
"You are both right, of course, only, this is a special case. Your device has brought you back this far because you both have a task to complete hare in the past, and you will be unable to go back to the future until this task is completed," Dumbledore explained.
"What do you mean, task? What could we possibly do here, in the past, that won't somehow drastically affect our future selves?" Scorpius demanded.
"Think about it, Mr. Malfoy. Is there any problem that you have in the future, with your parents, perhaps, that you would like to fix?"
Rose gasped. "So, it brought us back in time to somehow fix our parents' relationship? Maybe find a way to stop their fighting?"
"Your parents fight, too?" Scorpius looked at her incredulously. "Aren't your parents supposed to be like
the perfect couple, best friends, saviors of the Wizarding World and all that?"
Rose ignored him. "I've always wondered if there was a way to find something that would bring my parents together, like, maybe, figure out why they fell in love in the first place, and remind them of that?"
"Precisely, Ms. Weasley. That may be the very reason you are both here; the Time-Turner sensed that both of you had business in the past, and sent you back."
Dumbledore smiled. "Now, school begins in five days, so you will need to find a place to stay until then. You will have to be Sorted along with the First Years, I'm afraid. You will need new names, unless you wish your parents to know who you are, though I'm sure Ms. Granger will be able to figure it out soon enough. However, I suggest introducing yourselves to your parents as soon as possible, to avoid future complications. You may stay in the Room of Requirement, perhaps, temporarily."
Scorpius and Rose nodded.
" Perhaps you two would like to go with your middle names as last names?" The Headmaster suggested.
Rose and Scorpious stuck out like large thorns among the first years
" We have two new students with us this evening, now they will be sorted first and I hope all of you will make them feel welcome"
After the speech Rose and scorpious where called to be sorted, nervously one after the other they sat on the wooden stool and waited for there destiny.
Rose breathed a sigh of relief after she was Sorted into Gryffindor, as she'd been in the future. Scorpius had gotten Slytherin as well, and he, too, looked relieved. They were both in the same Houses as their parents, which would make their task easier.
She'd gotten a little worried when she met the eyes of her mum sitting at the Gryffindor table. There was slight suspicion in Hermione Granger's eyes. Best get it over with as soon as possible, then. Rose could tell that her parents hadn't recognized their feelings for each other yet, so perhaps it would be easier at this point in time to reveal only her identity and not her mission.
She'd have to discuss that with Scorpius later. Dumbledore had said they would have to cooperate on some level here. She seated herself awkwardly across the table from her mother, who began questioning her on where she was from (London) and where she'd gone to school (home-schooled, Rose had answered nervously) and so on, but by the time the Feast was over, she'd seemed to have passed Hermione's test. Now, how to get her and Ron alone so that she could awkwardly tell them she was their daughter.
Thanks guys so much for reading our first chapter ! this story is a collaboration between I Hackmanite
and .queen, if you guys could review down bellow it would mean the world to us and if you have any questions please let us know and we would be happy to answer them !
writen by: Hackmanite
edited by: Japaneese.