"Do you think it worked?" Albus whispers anxiously.

Scorpius looks all around. Everything about their surroundings looks exactly the same and yet, he senses that something is very, very different.

A chill shudders up Scorpius' spine. A twig snaps a few hundreds yards ahead of them, followed by some booming crunches. He slowly swallows and takes out his wand defensively. He holds one hand onto Albus's chest to keep him back as he investigates the intruder. Even though he can't see it, he can imagine the smirk of amusement that this must have inspired on Albus's lips.

"What do you think it is?" Albus questions, slowly pulling out his own wand.

Scorpius walks tentatively a few feet further toward the sound but the intruder quickly bursts through the trees. Albus winces and Scorpius staggers back in surprise.

"What are you boys doing out in the middle of the night without any supervision?"

Hagrid.

The giant Keeper of the Keys scowls accusingly down at Scorpius and Albus. The two best friends let out a mutual sigh of relief.

"Well, come on, you two. You know the rules. No... Canoodling in the Forbidden Forest." Hagrid explains as he rests one giant hand on each of the boys, ready to lead them back to their dorms.

"Canoodling?" Albus whispers with a chuckle into his friends ear. "The old man clearly needs to get a new dictionary for his next birthday."

Scorpius shrugs, "I'm just glad we didn't completely fuck everything up. It all seems the same, here in the present."

They reach the edge of the grounds before Hagrid stops, lifting his hands off their shoulders. "All right, boys, I think you can make it to your appropriate dorms from here."

"sorry Hagrid." Scorpius mutters before Albus chimes in with, "It won't happen again."

All they get in response in a curt nod from Hagrid before they set off toward their shared room. They've only taken a few steps when Hagrid barks out, "You can't fool me that easily, Potter. Your dorm is in the other direction. Please rerouted yourself."

The two friends turn and Albus furrows his brow in confusion. Scorpius looks down and let's out a little breath of shock. "Albus, I think we've found what's changed."

Albus, based on his friends instruction, looks down to investigate.

His school tie is now a shocking red.

"I don't understand." Albus babbles in disbelief. "How am I in Gryffindor?"

"Something we did must have changed this reality." Scorpius tries desperately to rationalize, setting a supportive hand on his friends shoulder. "Caused to you be sorted into a different house."

"Boys." Hagrid clears his throat. "I understand that it's difficult to get alone time together when you're in separate houses but... You really need to get some shut eye before the big game tomorrow."

"Big game?"' Albus' mouth quickly goes dry.

Hagrid chuckles, "You're kidding right? The game between your two houses."

"We play... Quidditch?" Scorpius stammers, his palms growing sweaty.

"Did you two bump your heads on tree branches while you were in the Forbidden Forest?" Hagrid furrows his brow suspiciously.

"We're just messing around." Albus explains, slinging an arm across Scorpius' shoulder casually. "We like to pretend we're not on opposing teams."

"I guess whatever keeps you two happy. I won't question it." Hagrid places his hands on his hips and raises an eyebrow, "Now, enough distracting me. It's time to head off to bed before the sun rises. I won't be responsible for making you miss your morning classes. I'll leave you two alone to say goodbye. I best not find out that you've snuck out again."

Albus and Scorpius watch as the groundskeeper walks toward his hut on the border of the Forbidden Forest, each of their heads full of worries about what mysteries tomorrow might bring.

"Right." Albus turns toward his best friend who has an extremely worried look on his face. "I suppose I'll see you tomorrow."

"Good night." Scorpius feels his heart hammering nervously against his chest. He's never had to enter the Slytherin common room on his own and while he doesn't envy Albus having to navigate the Gryffindor dorms for the first time, the journey will feel much lonelier than usual.

Albus turns quickly, knowing that if they stretch the greeting for too long Scorpius would somehow convince him to sneak into his old dorms. But when they went back they knew that things were going to change, this just had to be one of the sacrifices made. They could still be best friends, even without sharing a dorm room.

Scorpius watches Albus walk away and chews his lip in worry. He wishes he could call out to his best friend, give Albus a hug before they part ways for who knows how long. Would they still sit next to each other in every class? What would it be like to have meals without Albus by his side?

Before he can torture himself any further, Scorpius heads toward his dorm, wondering just what the next day might bring.

"Really, Al?"

A voice stirs Albus from his dreamless sleep.

He looks up, wincing but is relieved to find his cousin, Rose, with an amused look on her face. "Did you really forget the password again?"

"Uh… Yes." Albus scrambles to his feet and dusts off his pants, "Er, sorry."

"It's fine." Rose chuckles, mussing his hair playfully. "You were probably off with Scorpius again, weren't you?"

So they're friends in this reality too, even though they're in different houses. Thank Merlin, Albus thinks. He lets out a sigh, "Uh, yah. We were… in the Forbidden Forest. Hagrid found us."

Rose's eyes grow wide, "Seriously? That's a little risky the night before a big match, don't you think?"

His cousin begins to inspect him from head to toe, poking and prodding to see if he has an injuries. Albus pushes her away gently and holds up his hands, "I'm fine!"

Rose crosses her arms, unimpressed. "I'm not losing because you're off with a member of the opposing team, you two need to find a way to keep it in your trousers. Anyway, we should head to breakfast."

"Uh, keep what in our trousers?" Albus mutters, completely confused as to what his cousin is referring. "We didn't even do any magic out there. We were just… chatting."

"I didn't mean keep your wands in your pants." Rose bursts out laughing, linking her arms through her cousin's and begins to lead them toward the Main Hall. "God, Al, everyone knows what you two do behind closed doors. It's pretty obvious."

Albus quickly thinks of the Timeturner in his backpocket. There's no way that Rose can know about that, even if they are much more chummy in this reality. His brow begins to sweat in worry. "I, uh, don't know what you're talking about…"

Rose stops in her tracks and puts her hands on either of Albus's shoulders. She quickly looks around as if to ensure no one will over hear what she is about to say, "I know you and Scorpius are more than best friends. I get that it's complicated, what with how you're in different houses and on opposing Quidditch teams… I know that you two sneak off to the Owlery to snog between classes. I'm not as thick as you make me out to be."

Albus' suddenly feels very faint, "Snog? Scorpius? What?"