We were all called on the carpet for this one. Uncle Draco, Aunt Aly, Aunt Ginny, and Uncle Harry stood behind very contrite-looking Scorpius and Albus. Uncle Ron stood behind me.

Aunt Aly and Aunt Ginny had not let go of either Scorpius or Albus.

If my father were here HE would be standing behind me.

With his hands wrapped firmly around my throat. Thank Merlin for muggle fathers.

Professor McGonagall was fuming. "So to be clear... you illegally jumped off the Hogwarts Express, you invaded and stole from the Ministry of Magic, you took it upon yourself to change time, whereupon you disappeared two people..."

Albus looked down. "I agree it doesn't sound good."

"Merlin Albus, shut up and look as sorry as you have ever looked in your life!" I hissed at him.

Professor McGonagall glared at me. "Sound advice, Miss Dursley. I suggest you take it."

I looked down, shut up and looked as sorry as I had ever looked in my life.

With a sniff Professor McGonagall went on. "And your response to disappearing Hugo and Rose Granger-Weasley was to go back in time again... and this time, instead of losing two people you lost a huge number of people and killed your father... and in doing so you resurrected the worst wizard the world has ever known and heralded in a new age of Dark Magic. You're correct, Mr. Potter, it doesn't sound good, does it? Are you aware how stupid you've been?"

Scorpius nodded looking at me out of the corner of his eye. "Yes, Professor."

Albus hesitated a moment. He looked at Uncle Harry. "Yes."

Uncle Harry sounded like he might take pity on at least Albus. "Professor, if I may..."

Professor McGonagall shouted. Actually SHOUTED! "You may not. What you choose to do as parents is your matter but this is my school, and these are my students, and I will choose what punishment they will face."

"Merlin, Uncle Harry, shut up. Do you want detention right beside us?" I swear when I said that Professor McGonagall looked like she was considering it.

Uncle Draco, like the good cowardly Slytherin he was merely said. "Seems fair."

Uncle Harry looked at Aunt Ginny for support. She shook her head.

Professor McGonagall ranted on. "I should expel you but" with a disgusted look at Uncle Harry "all things considered... I think it might be safer for you to remain in my care. You are in detention for... well, you can consider yourself in detention for the rest of the year. Christmas is canceled for you. You can forget visiting Hogsmeade ever again. If I wouldn't be accused of favoring my own house Quidditch would be cancelled for you young lady. And that's just the start…"

Suddenly Aunt Hermione burst in. All action and resolve. I wanted to hug her so hard! "What did I miss?"

Professor McGonagall turned on her fiercely. "It is considered polite to knock when entering a room, Hermione Granger, maybe you missed that."

Aunt Hermione realized she'd overstepped. "Ah."

"If I could also give a detention to you, Minister, I would." Oh joy Professor McGonagall was back to shouting. "Keeping hold of a Time-Turner, of all the stupid things!"

Aunt Hermione, looked a LOT less like the fierce warrior she had been in the other world and far more like a student called on the carpet. "In my defense..."

Professor McGonagall looked ready to commit murder. "And in a bookcase. You kept it in a bookcase. It's almost laughable."

No one dared laugh.

Aunt Hermione tried again. "Minerva. (There was an intake of breath from Professor McGonagall) Professor McGonagall..."

Professor McGonagall shrieked. "Your children didn't exist!" Hermione had no reply to that. "This happened in my school, under my watch. After all that Dumbledore did, I couldn't live with myself…"

Aunt Hermione also took to studying the floor. "I know."

Professor McGonagall composed herself for a moment. "Your intentions to save Cedric were honorable, if misguided. And it does sound as if you were brave, Scorpius, Lilliana and you, Albus, but the lesson even your father sometimes failed to heed is that bravery doesn't forgive stupidity. Always think. Think what's possible. A world controlled by Voldemort is..."

Scorpius shuddered. "A horrific world."

Truer words were never spoken but damned if I was going to speak! Uncle Ron pulled me a tiny bit closer.

Professor McGonagall sat down hard. "You are so young." She looked at Harry, Draco, Ginny, Ron and Hermione. "You're all so young. You have no idea how dark the wizarding wars got. You were... reckless with the world some people... some very dear friends of mine and yours... sacrificed a huge amount to create and sustain.

Albus. "Yes, Professor."

Scorpius. "Yes, Professor."

Me. "Yes, Professor."

Professor McGonagall was done with us. "Go on. Get out. The lot of you. And find me that Time-Turner."

We all fled. Scorpius and I looked at Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron. What do you say to two people you watched get their souls sucked out?

I flung myself at Uncle Ron at the same time Scorpius flung himself at Aunt Hermione. "Merlin I am so, SO sorry." I sobbed. "They came and you were like "Kiss me" and then you two kissed and then they kissed you and then…." I couldn't go on.

"Who? What?" Uncle Ron was patting my back just like he did in that other world. I sobbed harder.

Scorpius finally choked out. "Dementors. They… both of you… and then Mum… except she was dead…"

"Chocolate." Uncle Harry said firmly. "And then we can talk."

I nodded but first. "Aunt…" I choked. "Aunt Aly… Professor Snape… before he… the dementors…" I couldn't go on. I dropped the ring in to her hand.

Aunt Aly looked at the ring and held it up for Uncle Draco to see.

"He said you were like a daughter to him, Mum." Scorpius finished for me. "That he was proud for you to wear these. And he said to say that… he was proud Albus was named after him."

I could tell Aunt Aly didn't know what to say. She just kept staring at the ring until Uncle Draco slipped an arm around her waist and led her away.

"Thank you, children." He said to us before they left. "Alya will find her voice again and thank you herself."

I watched them go and looked up at Uncle Harry. "He saved us. He… said… one person and…" I choked up.

Uncle Harry just looked at me confused.

Scorpius filled in the rest. "The dementors were coming for us. I couldn't move. He told me to think of one person. His exact words were All it takes is one person. I couldn't save Harry for Lily. So now I give my allegiance to the cause she believed in. And it's possible that along the way I started believing in it myself." And then the dementors they came for him. His Patronus. It was a doe. Just like your Mums and…"

"It is alright, Scorpius." Uncle Harry said soothingly. "I understand Go upstairs now and I will be up to talk to all of you soon."

Albus, Scorpius and I were sitting in their room. Uncle Harry entered and looked at all of us full of anger, but clearly being cautious to not let it spill. No one else came up.

Uncle Harry handed around chocolate. "Thanks for letting me come up."

Albus turned, he nodded at his dad. He's being cautious too.

"No luck, as yet, with the Time-Turner searching. They're negotiating with the Merpeople to dredge the lake." Uncle Harry sat down uncomfortably. "This is a nice room."

Albus looked around. "Green is a soothing color, isn't it? I mean Gryffindor rooms are all well and good but the trouble with red is… it is said to send you a little mad… not that I'm casting aspersions…"

"Can you explain why you tried to do this?" Uncle Harry looked around. I was lying with my head in Scorpius' lap. "Any of you?"

"Because that is just the way we do things, Uncle Harry." I whispered. "Together."

Both Albus and Scorpius took my hands. "Together." They repeated.

Uncle Harry chuckled. "Yeah, I get that. Ron and Hermione… they followed me anywhere. We never said it the way you three do, but yeah. I get the whole together thing. But we would have been better off following her to a library for homework."

"I have seen her library." Scorpius commented. "I am absolutely, positively beyond a shadow of a doubt, certain you would NOT have been safer in the library."

"And…" I was afraid to tell him the truth, but I needed to say it. "I hoped if I went back… maybe I could see my Mum… get her to the hospital in time… or something. But… in that world, Umbridge HAD killed her and…" I buried my face in Scorpius' lap and cried quietly.

I felt Uncle Harry place his hand on my head.

We waited for Albus to chime in. This was his grand adventure after all. "I thought I could… change things. I thought Cedric… it's unfair."

Uncle Harry sighed. "Of course it's unfair, Albus, don't you think I know that? I was there. I saw him die. But to do this… to risk all this…"

Albus sounded miserable. "I know."

Uncle Harry finally failed to contain his anger. "If you were trying to do as I did, you went the wrong way about it. I didn't volunteer for adventure, I was forced into it. You did something really reckless something really stupid and dangerous. Something that could have destroyed everything… Look at Scorpius and Lilliana… they are… Merlin, have you even LOOKED at them?"

I don't know what Uncle Harry saw, but I know what I felt. There are not enough words for the horror curled in the pit of my belly.

Those dementors… they had really shaken me.

To See Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione and Severus just… consumed.

"I know. Okay. I know." Albus wiped away a tear, Uncle Harry must have noticed it because he took a breath and pulled himself back from the brink.

Uncle Harry patted Scorpius on the knee. "Well, I was wrong too… to think Scorpius was Voldemort's son. He wasn't a black cloud."

I felt Scorpius wrap his arms around me.

Albus looked at us and laid his head on my legs. "No."

Uncle Harry continued. "And I've locked away the map. You won't see it again. Your mum left your room exactly as it was when you ran away. Did you know that? Wouldn't let me go in. Wouldn't let anyone go in. You really scared her. And me."

Albus lifted his head. "Really scared you?"

Uncle Harry sounded shocked that Albus had asked that. "Yes."

Albus laid his head back down on me. "I thought Harry Potter wasn't afraid of anything?"

Uncle Harry sounded older than he should. More tired and sad maybe. "Is that how I make you feel?"

Albus looked at his dad, like he was trying to figure him out. "I don't think Scorpius said, but when we returned after failing to fix the first task, I was suddenly in Gryffindor House. Nothing was better between us then either… so… the fact that I'm in Slytherin… that's not the reason for our problems. It's not just about that."

Uncle Harry agreed. "No. I know. It's not just about that."

It seemed like kind of an uncomfortable place to have that conversation, with me and Scorpius right there, but we were together and we weren't leaving each other for quite a while.

Uncle Harry looked at Albus seeing us all wrapped around each other. It felt like it would be a long time before we would let go of each other.

"Are you okay, Albus?" Uncle Harry finally asked.

Albus shook his head. "No."

Uncle Harry sighed sadly. "No. Nor me."