"What are you doing?" Albus wrestles the time turner from Scorpius as the train chugs beneath them.
"It's obvious isn't it? We've got to go back." The Malfoy boy explains.
"No, absolutely not Scorpius! Bad idea. Time turners are illegal, you don't meddle with time. Delphi must have stolen this." Rose scolds him, in a very Hermione tone.
"Because she cares about my Mum, and she wants her to get better." Scorpius points out.
"She'll get better with rest." Rose insists. "My Mum told me."
"Hermione is lying!" Scorpius cuts her off. "Everyone is lying! My Mum won't get better and if we don't do something soon, it's going to get worse... If we don't do something soon, she's going to die."
"I'm in." Albus says softly.
"Albus no!" Rose argues, it's too risky.
"She's worth saving." Her cousin pleads his case.
"That wasn't in question, only the method by which you plan to help her. How do you know what caused it anyhow?" Rose busies herself, tugging at a loose string on her jumper.
"Delphi said not to let my dad cast spells on her." That would make his mum better, she promised.
"Well according to the source material, that'll be a memory charm and the imperius curse." Rose sighs.
"So we'll go back to the night my dad cast them and make sure he doesn't." Scorpius shrugs, can't be that hard.
"And how exactly are you going to stop him?" She arches a fiery brow.
"I haven't figured that part out just yet."
"I should remind you Scorp, your Dad was much more..." Albus pauses to find the right verbiage. "Intense back then. He's not going to listen."
"So we try my Mum."
"I dunno about that either. Even if you could convince her that it would hurt her in the end, saving everyone else would still take priority." Rose knows her godmother, she's not a coward. "So in that way it might be easier to get your dad on board."
"Even still, we can't very let them fulfill the prophecy for the wrong side." Scorpius taps a finger to his chin, reasonable thinking regaining control of his emotions.
"We could try to get her out of the spell faster, maybe that could help, right?" Albus offers.
"Or have someone cast the spells properly. Then again that only works if we had a trained adult to perform them; which we don't. Because this is extremely dangerous, and shouldn't be attempted." Rose points out, crossing her arms over her chest.
"You're probably right, but this is my Mum." Scorpius breathes, "so I have to go."
"Certainly not without us." Albus argues.
"Someone's got to make sure you don't bugger it up." Rose frowns, in agreement.
"That's my girl," Scorpius smiles. Catching the way his words bring a flush to her cheeks. "Our girl," he amends immediately. "Because you're not mine or- you know...what I meant to say was-"
"I think she knows what you meant mate." Albus saves him, always.
—
"Dad," Leo greets her father, from the entry way of her childhood home. "Where's the baby?"
"She's just-" Draco breaks off, his thoughts a jumbled mess. "Arlo and Marko took her. I have a few errands to run."
"Well what'd you need? I can take care of it." The girl offers.
"I need to go down to the ministry." Draco focuses his icy eyes on his daughter. "Scorpius and his friends have taken a detour on their way to school. I need to sort that out. Your grandfather is upstairs, with your Mum...if she wakes up. I hate to leave her alone and I understand you're quite busy-"
"I'm not too busy for family." Leo shakes her head.
"Where's this coming from darling?" Draco stops tugging on his coat, with a sigh.
"Well Arlo and Polaris have been the most vocal about me distancing myself and...it got me thinking that maybe, in a way I was. Because I'm too afraid to ask the questions I need answers to." Leo explains.
"What do you want to know?" Her father says, patiently.
"Do you regret what you did to have me?" Leo's deep chocolate eyes are glossy with her words.
"I regret a lot of things. All the things that've hurt your mother. I love her, with all that I am." Draco breathes in deeply.
"However, I would do it again; for you. We put our children before our happiness, before our families, before our marriage. There were months when we didn't sleep, there were years when we slept on opposite ends of the bed with five children between us. Of course people had a fair bit to say about all that. But for your mother and I...that was the only way. We choose our children first, every time; no exceptions."
"We never asked you to do that." Leo says; she knows that's why he's leaving to find Scorpius, when he really wants to stay.
"Sweetheart...you didn't need to. If there are expectations of love it isn't unconditional."
—
"I cant believe-" Scorpius breaks off as he look around them. The train car has vanished and they are standing just outside of Hogwarts, the forbidden forest howling behind them. It's after nightfall and the castle lights appear exceptionally beautiful, even more so than any of them can remember. "Did that really just work?"
"I'd say yes," Rose takes a step forward on shaky legs. "But we need to figure out exactly where we are."
"You mean, when we are." Albus quips, only to be glared at by his cousin.
"Well from the look of the boubatons carriage I'd say we're somewhere around the time of the triwizard tournament." Rose reasons.
"Alright well, I guess let's get to it." Scorpius nods.
"Wait," Rose stops him with a hand to his chest. Listening in closely for a moment. "We'll need some dress robes."
"For what?" Albus asks.
"I think we're going to the Yule Ball."
"Great," Al remarks, shrugging a shoulder. "We're not supposed to be seen, so that makes perfect sense."
"We can be seen, as long as we're not recognized." Rose says, pulling her wand from her denims. "Who's going first?"
Lucius is upstairs, his daughter in law centered on the bed, her hair pristine. Save for a piece that has gone slightly astray, hands resting atop each other.
"You are not going anywhere. I won't allow it." Lucius tells Rosanna, his tone firm; making himself comfortable in the air chair.
Reaching the slight distance to her and flicking the wayward lock onto the pillow. He talks to her for a while, things he'd never say when she can hear. Noticing that her left hand has swollen to a terrible size in the few minutes since he's been there.
Her wedding band and engagement ring struggling to accommodate the rapidly growing fresh. Without hesitation, he pulls them off, setting them on the bedside table.
—
"What happened?" Scorpius demands, as the triad find themselves whisked back to the present day. "Did one of you turn it?"
"No." Rose shakes her head. Still in her dusty pink gown.
"Something must be wrong with the time turner." Albus frowns.
"Well if it's dodgy, we probably shouldn't be using it." Rose concludes, turning up her nose, in the way that Scorpius finds adorable on any other occasion. "I have a feeling she tampered with it."
"Who?" Scorpius demands impatiently.
"You know very well who! The same person who stole it from the ministry." Rose tells him.
"Come off it Rose." Scorpius scowls, "Delphi is only trying to help."
"She said all you had to do was turn it, therefore she must have already charmed it where she wanted it to go." Rose takes a step closer, jabbing a finger into Scorpius' chest.
"That's barmy." Scorpius protests, cupping his hand over her's.
"Either way," Albus cuts in, to defuse the tension. Scratching the back of this neck uncomfortably, he hates when they fight. "I don't think we should play around with this. It's dangerous and we could wind up stuck wherever we land."
"I have to finish this." Scorpius shakes his head. Preparing to turn time, alone.
"Scorp please," Albus reaches a hand out to stop him. "Your Mum wouldn't want you to do this. If anything ever happened to you-"
"I know, I'll be careful...I just- need to fix this for her." Scorpius insists.
"Draco?" Rosanna's voice cuts roughly into the room. Her throat dry as she squints against the dim light.
"Are your eyes really that bad?" Lucius asks, his tone annoyed and somewhat concerned.
"Lucius?" How long has it been? "Are the kids-"
"Back at school." Lucius nods.
"And Corina?" Rosanna pushes herself into a sitting position.
"With Arlo." Her father in law explains. Attempting to keep his expression indifferent.
The woman nods. "Where's Draco?"
"Down at the ministry."
"How long was I out?"
"Nearly three weeks."
"Scorpius...I had a dream. Is he ok?" Rosanna straightens out her rumpled blouse.
"Draco's handling it. Don't even dream of trying to go after him." Lucius bites out. "You're confined to the bed."
"Says who?" She laughs, incredulously. "Says Draco?"
"Says me." The older man squares his shoulders.
"Lucius-" Rosanna breaks off, the bedside table having caught her eye. "What happened to my rings?"
"You're meant to say thank you, honestly Rosanna. You'd have lost the finger, swollen as it was." He tuts her.
"No, they're..." she motions toward the table, the wood beneath beginning to rot.
"Daft girl," Lucius snarls, reducing the metal bands to ash. "Someone's got it out for you," he explains.
A moment passes, silently, between them.
"You're still going to run after him, aren't you?" Lucius knows Rosanna better than most people give him credit for.
"Yeah." Ro nods.
"I'll be going with you."
She opens her mouth to argue.
But Lucius cuts her off, "if anything happens to you, people will think I decided to stay so that I could finish the job."
"You thought about it didn't you?" Rosanna smirks, as she moves to stand on shaky legs.
Lucius is beside her in a second, helping to support her weight. "That's for me to know."
—
"Where are we?" Albus asks, scanning their surroundings. Time travel is severely disorienting.
"Looks like my parent's room." Scorpius whispers, the spray of the shower from the adjoining bathroom let's him know they're not alone.
"So maybe-"
The trio scamper into the closet, away from view. As footsteps from the hallway draw near.
Rosanna steps in, sporting a lavender maternity dress. Her belly prominent enough to be seen through the material.
Flopping onto the bed, she runs her hands over the growing child fondly.
The bathroom door opens and Scorpius can see his father emerge from, through the tiny crack between the wardrobe doors. A cream colored towel around his waist.
"Baby," Rosanna rolls her head to the side. "Did you have a chance to look at names today?"
"Not yet love." Draco sighs, turning toward his chest of drawers.
Rosanna's playful tone is gone. "You wanted another girl."
"He's yours Rosanna, I'll love him."
Scorpius' heart sinks, his father didn't want him. His father, who held him on his shoulders when he wasn't tall enough to see. His father, who showered him with endless affection, who never skipped a single letter...never wanted a son.
Albus' hand finds his friend's, giving a reassuring squeeze. Because he knows what it's like to feel unwanted, in a way that Rose never would.
"What the hell does that mean?" Rosanna demands, the angry vein pulsing in her neck.
"I'll be a rubbish father to a son." Draco murmurs, stepping into his chosen outfit.
'Oh,' Scorpius all but sighs in relief. 'No, you'll be brilliant. You'll be...you'll be the best father anyone could ever have."
"He'll grow to resent me and I'll fail him. I'll fail you." The platinum haired man sits at the edge of their bed.
Rosanna reaches toward him, resting a hand on his lower back. "Draco, no you won't."
"Still nothing?" Harry asks Hermione, as she rejoins the conference room. Her tiny bump still easily concealed beneath her business attire.
"Not a word." The brunette frowns, no one within the ministry seems to have any information at all about their children's whereabouts.
"What about Delphi?" Ginny is wringing her hands.
"She's not in her office. No one's seen her all week." Draco rubs at his brow furiously.
"We need to do a welfare check, she could be in trouble." Leo suggests, standing beside her father in the huddle of bodies.
"What'd you know about a welfare check?" Ron asks, attempting a joke. She's never worked for the ministry.
"I listen." Leo crosses her arms. "Anyway, I know you guys are tied up; let me go."
"Mind if I tag along?" Lucius appears in the room, making his presence known. He's not alone.
Rosanna is there too. Supporting herself on underworked muscles, that ache with reanimation. Her dark wash jeans and mauve turtleneck are a bit too casual for the office. But she knows they won't be staying long.
Draco is stunned. Speechless and mouth gaping as it all comes flooding back to him. The last time he'd seen her conscious, Christmas Day on the Weasley's couch.
Two weeks before when she sobbed into her hands, during their last heated fight.
"I can't do this much longer Draco." It had been more or a plea than an announcement.
"You'll do this as long as you have to!" Draco hadn't coddled. Hadn't take a moment to apologize afterwards; he's still sorry.
Draco doesn't know if she wants to embrace him or slap him. But still his feet can't stop moving toward her, as if on autopilot.
Leo is in her arms in a second. Rosanna holding her daughter tightly, stroking her platinum locks as she cries against her shoulder.
"I thought I'd never see you again." Leo confesses, she'd kept a strong exterior. For her siblings and for her father; and because part of her was afraid to fall apart.
"Somebody cursed my rings." Rosanna tells Leo, kissing her hair as she smooths it down.
"It wasn't because of-" Draco takes another hesitant step toward his wife.
"No." Rosanna says, meeting his stormy eyes. "There's nothing you could've done, it wasn't your fault."
When she reaches for him, Draco clasps her hand tightly between his. Kissing her knuckles and resting his cheek against them.
Rosanna squeezes his fingers sweetly. "Love you."
"I love you Ro." Draco murmurs against her skin. "I love you so much."
"I don't need your help, I can do it myself." Leo tells her grandfather, who wants to follow her. "And you can stay the hell away from me."
"Leo wait; please." Lucius calls after her. He never expected her to forgive him, but they need to stick together.
"There's nothing you can say!" Her mind is made up.
"I understand that you're angry-"
"You missed my wedding and you think I'm pissed?" Leo cuts him off, unable to stand another second of his half ass apology.
"Something along those lines." Lucius squares his shoulders.
"Try disappointed, hurt, gutted. Something along those lines." Leo's brown eyes are harsh and unrelenting.
She reminds him so much of her mother. "I only want the best for you."
"It would have been best for you to come."
"The damage is done." Lucius replies, flippantly. He doesn't often admit to being wrong. "No doubt your mother has told you all about how awful I am."
"That's another thing! Why do you assume my Mum thinks badly of you? She defended you. She said it's not your fault you are the way you are. But still you treat her like she's beneath you." Leo snaps.
"I've done everything in my power to keep her alive." He would never let any harm come to his daughter in law.
"There's a difference between keeping her alive and loving her. Everyone else put aside all the bullshit and welcomed your son with open arms. It's too bad you couldn't do the same for her."
"Rosanna thinks Draco's up bringing was cruel. That I harmed him in ways beyond repair." Lucius pauses, collecting his thoughts. "The things Draco had to do, because he loved her. The lengths he went to keep her, torture him to the depths of his soul. She blames others for his unhappiness when truly; she's the only one with the ability to inflict that type of pain."
Even if that were true, "Why didn't you come?"
"I see your father, so much in you. Longing for acceptance and to break free from lineage. I see your mother, when she was young, with all the fire in her eyes. I couldn't save them; I wanted to save you." Nothing could be more true.
"Grandpa," Leo sighs, "there's nothing to save me from."
"This muggle..."
"My husband." She cuts him off quickly.
"What will happen if your children are like him?" Lucius demands.
"I'll love them! I don't care about magic, or your traditions or any of that. But don't worry, I'm not a Malfoy anymore. At least I can't further disgrace your family name." Leo says.
"Be happy with him until he's gone. But don't have children." Lucius grips the end of his walking stick, forcefully.
"It's a little late for that." Leo averts her eyes.
Lucius stares at her in disbelief.
"I wanted to tell my parents first. But since they're off saving the world...again," she throws her arms up in exasperation, "this will have to do."
—
"There's gotta be a way we can get this stupid thing to work." Scorpius says through gritted teeth.
"Let me see." Rose takes the turner, holding it in her palm; at the ready. "Finite Incantatem." She casts the counter spell, if something was controlling the time turner, it's not anymore. "Give it one last go."
And they end up on the return train to Hogwarts. Just months before Leo is conceived, and days before the deatheaters are prepared to appear through the vanishing cabinet.
"Brilliant work Rose." Scorpius breathes, they scamper into an empty train car and devise a plan.
