Chapter 4 - Harry's fear

Harry seemed to have gotten to a similar conclusion as Draco about Hermione's story because he unleashed his furry at his son:

"As for you Albus Severus Potter, you are grounded until you are of age. You have absolute no idea what could have happened if it wasn't for Hermione." he simmered with rage and his clenched hands trembled.

Hermione's sacrifice showed him once more just how bad it was to lose one's child. He couldn't loose his own son to his stupid heroic trait, that had most likely been his own heritage. Ginny took his hand, gently stroking it to calm him down, but it didn't help. She tried to say something but Harry interrupted her:

"I told you again and again to stay away from Scorpius. Together you just put bees in each other's bonnet." Said son tried to take up as little space as possible on his chair, while he and Scorpius looked at each other. Draco meanwhile looked as confused as his own son at Harry's choice of words, both not acquainted with the muggle saying.

At that point Hermione had enough and let fly: "Harry James Potter!" focusing her anger on Harry. Seemingly this was the moment everyone needed to be reminded of their full name.

"You won't blame my son because your son is just like his dad. He's really a chip off you. This propensity to irresponsibility is something he got straight from you. Wouldn't be the first Potter to nearly get his friends killed, would he?" This time it was Harry that tried to curl up in his chair.

Visible endeavoured to dissemble his excitement Draco made himself comfortable and watched the spectacle unfold. There was nothing better than watch lions go after each others throat. He was just a bit torn between amusement and awe.

"Dad and me are alike?" it came baffled from Albus direction and this time Draco couldn't hide his sniggering.

"Your father should have been called The-Boy-Who-Had-Unbelievable-Good-Luck" Draco joked but shut up when he saw the stern look Hermione shot his way. Happy she could still command respect from Draco, Hermione continued her own speech, back to glaring at Harry.

"And he should never forget that he's alive today because he had a lot of friends by his side. Helping him no matter how stupid his idea looked like. Damn Harry, even Aquila with her four years ordered Scorpius around. Don't confuse him and Draco just because they are family and look alike. As much as it pains me to admit, my son is a light-headed follower, not a leader. They are children with stupid ideas, just like us when we were in school."

Harry looked on the floor and nodded deliberately. Hermione was right. Ginny heaved a sigh of relieve and bowed her head towards Hermione in gratitude. Maybe she should give Harry a real telling-off more often. She knew his relationship with Albus had never been easy, but sometimes he positively overwhelmed his son. Harry had told her once that the Sorting Hat had wanted to sort him into Slytherin, but he had wished for Gryffindor so much that he got his wish. Why he was so hard on his son, who had ended up in the house, was clear but in her opinion still downright childish.

"I'm sorry, I'm just so angry. I don't want anything to happen to my son. I couldn't live with myself if it did." Harry groaned and gave Albus a sad look, who sat speechless on his chair, looking at his dad with big eyes.

"And how do we fix this whole thing now? I would like to have my wife back. That has to be possible." Ron grumbled and looked at the Headmistress. He was never one to accept the easiest solution and rather went head first into trouble. A loyal friend to the end, but stubborn as a mule. Hermione knew there would be a fight waiting over her answer.

"No." her and Professor McGonagall answered at the same time.

"Therefor we would need to change the past again and again until we are back to the point were I met Scorpius and..." Hermione looked at McGonagall and went mute. It was way to risky to dare.

"One life is never worth enough to risk those of others. Take that to heart please." Hermione looked at Ron first and the two boys after: "There are to many what ifs in history. For example if Regulus Black hadn't died, he would have had a high chance to kill You-Kn... V-Voldemort. He had the horcruxes figured out years before everyone else. What if he had told his brother. What if Lily decided to stay friends with Severus, just because he didn't say that one ugly word. They could have made him their Secret's Keeper. What if Peter had died when he tried his animagus, he wasn't the brightest student out there after all. You see what I mean? To many what ifs. I will need to settle in. I spend the last two decades teaching my kids and working out useless strategies that killed my friends one after another. It's simply not a risk I'm willing to take."

Hermione reached absentmindly for Scorpius hand to calm herself.

"We are always in need of a Professor for Defence Against the Dark Arts. It's a curse to search for a new one each year. We even had curse breakers look all over the place, but couldn't find a reason why every Professor leaves after a year." Professor McGonagall offered an olive branch and Hermione smiled back in consent. It was something she could do while she searched for a way to make Ron's wish come true. Hogwarts may have a solution hidden in all the old books stored in the library.

For now she needed to know about the two children she had here. She hoped Ron would answer, because she could see how upset and angry he was about the dismiss of his demand.

I like the way Hermione is bossy and a bit fragile at the same time.

This chapter was hard to edit and I fear there are a bunch of grammar mistakes still, but please ignore them.