"Brand new year!" His dad clapped his shoulder. Mum and Lily had said good bye at the house: his sister had set loose a grindylow in the bathroom and they were trying to repair the tiles (that is, his mum was fixing it and Lily was sneaking another creature in). James had yelled a shouted bye before racing off with Fred and Roxanne. His Aunts Hermione and Angelina had been right at their heels, so Albus hadn't asked. "I know you aren't having the best time at Hogwarts. But Al, this—"

"Albus. It's Albus, dad. Not Al."

"Albus, right. Sorry." Glasses were adjusted, smile dimming. "It's your second year, there's lots of things to learn and explore. This'll be a good year, you'll see.

Albus fidgeted, looking down as a group of passing women pointed at them. His dad hadn't noticed.

"You'll have a wonderful time, I'm sure of it. Things will look up. Maybe try to make more friends? I wouldn't have survived school without Ron and Hermione. I wouldn't have survived at all, actually."

"I have Scorpius!" Albus protested.

"I know, I know. I only meant you could try getting out of your comfort zone. You could talk to more classmates?"

"My last name ruins that plan, thanks."

Hands in his pockets and a searching frown on his face. "Al, I—sorry. Albus, are the other students giving you a hard time? You can tell me, you must know that. When I was at Hogwarts there were all sorts of rumours about me! The Heir of Slytherin, being a raving lunatic? I'd heard them all."

"Thanks dad." Albus pulled away with his suitcase. "Got to catch the train, make friends, be popular. See you at hols."

"What? Al, wait! ALBUS!"

He heard his dad calling, but when he turned he saw the shout had attracted more starers. His dad was already wrestling off three people who wanted autographs and—when he was finally rid of them—his son was nowhere to be seen.

"Mr. Potter."

"I know I messed it up!" Albus said, shifting his bag and thinking about the unfairness of it all. "I know it's ridiculous I can't do it. I'll work on it, I promise."

Professor Flitwick blinked. The two were alone in the Charms classroom a few minutes after class had let out. "Mr. Potter," he said at last, "it's hardly ridiculous. This is a difficult spell, so much so that only two of your classmates managed to produce it. That's not why I asked you to stay back."

Albus shuffled, wishing he were anywhere else. "It's embarrassing to me," he said.

The professor sighed, sitting on his desk as he talked to his student. "Before I told everyone to quiet down, I heard snippets of what Miss Marshall and Mr. Fawcett were whispering. Are your classmates giving you a hard time?"

Obviously. "It's fine."

Flitwick pursed his mouth. "I understand this is merely a symptom of the problem, but I want to assure you that this spell is particularly difficult. So much so that I've hesitated teaching it to second years and it's more about the theory at this stage. You're a fine student, you simply need to work on your confidence. Not producing the Disarming Charm on your first try isn't a failure."

"My dad made it famous!" Albus burst out, not able to stop himself. "He makes everything famous, but that one's practically his spell. That's what they were whispering about, okay? That I couldn't even do an Expelliarmus!"

Professor Flitwick seemed contemplative for a moment. "It would be pointless to assure you that you don't have to compare yourself to your father. I also understand more than most that cruel gossip is hard to shrug off." He smiled sadly at Albus. "You are shaping up to be an excellent wizard. Like I said, you merely have to believe in yourself more. You need to concentrate on your spells and truly believe that you can do them. Intent is a large part of wandwork."

Albus looked down, scuffing the floor as he wished he could leave.

"Whatever the case, I'm one for practical solutions rather than waffling sentiment," Flitwick continued. "If you want to master the Disarming Charm, I'll hardly stand in your way! If you'd like to come in after classes, I'd be happy to give you extra tips on that or on other spells. I'm sure your other professors would offer the same."

"Thanks," Albus said quietly.

Flitwick sighed. "Have you talked to your Head of House about the gossip?"

Like it'd do any good. "No. I will, I guess."

"If you tell any teacher who it is that's bothering you and what they do—"

"It's fine."

"No offence, but what I don't get? Why anyone would think YOU'RE Voldemort's son."

Scorpius' arms were stretched out wide as he teetered on top of a levitating broomstick. Their dorm mates had, once again, long since vacated the room. "I'm a bit sensitive to the subject, here."

Albus scoffed. "You're you! The bloke who thinks standing on a broomstick sounds like a grand idea."

Scorpius glanced down, teetered again, and looked up with a shrug. "James bet me."

"What?"

"Easy five galleons, I only have to prove you can fly standing! I just gotta practice before I—"

"My brother James?" Albus had thought he was smarter than this. "You're so gullible."

"Alll-busss!"

Albus looked up from his Transfiguration essay to see his cousin leaning against the table, all elbows, wide eyes, and hushed voice. "We're speaking now?"

"We're always speaking. Shush." Rose helped herself to a seat, head tilting in and voice lowering even further. "I have the best gossip."

"You always do and I'm not interested."

"It's about your faaa-miii-llly!"

"When's it not? Look Rose, it's great you're suddenly being chummy, but I have three more inches to write."

"Your dad," she dove right on, ignoring his sigh, "talked to the Malfoys, who were turning over a very, very cool magical artefact. Seems Mr. Malfoy was reluctant, but Mrs. Malfoy wanted to be upfront against the rumours about their son. Y'know, the one about her going back in time, doing the frick-frack, and Scorpius being Voldemort's son?"

"I've heard the gossip. Frick-frack?" He eyed her askance. "How do you always know things like this?"

Rose sent Albus a look. 'A look' saying he should know better than to question his sources. "So your dad now has the very, very interesting object and has hidden it somewhere. Holding onto it for safekeeping! Mum's worried about it, I can tell from her letters."

"Your mum's the one always telling you this stuff?"

"I read between the lines. ANYWHO, your dad. Fascinating magical object. It's a time-turner!" Rose continued in a sing-songy, excited tone. "It can go back years, can you imagine? Not hours like in mum's story. They accidentally destroyed all the old ones way back in the '90s, but it seems Lucius Malfoy had commissioned a different sort! The Malfoys haven't used it but Mrs. Malfoy has been studying it. She was an Unspeakable, did you know? Like Aunty Audrey?"

"Scorpius mentioned…"

"Five gall-eee-ons!" Scorpius hollered, shoving the coins in Albus' face. The other students waiting for Charms backed a step away. Then another.

"What the—"

"James was serious and I'm an excellent judge of character!" Scorpius cheered, wildly pumping his fist with the money inside. The students nodded to themselves and moved back further, glad they'd avoided being hit. "Seems your uncle bet him he couldn't find out if you could ride a broom standing up, saying James couldn't try it himself or ask family members to help. Seeing as how the next maddest person he knows is your friend, moi, I'm five galleons richer!"

Albus stared. "You're already rich."

"It's the principle of the thing."

"Which uncle?"

Scorpius paused in his cheer, surprised. "Didn't ask. I figured you'd know? It's an odd thing to do."

Albus scratched his head. "Uncle Ron, maybe. Or Uncle George? I could see Uncle Charlie, but his bet would likely involve fire. If it was an aunt, that'd be easy. Hold on: it's not my Aunt Angelina, right? You definitely heard 'uncle'? Because she's scary when it comes to Quidditch, Scorp."

"He said 'uncle'. Is this a normal thing for your family?" Scorpius' head inclined to the side, arm frozen mid-air. "Hey, s'all good. But I figured you were the weird one of your relatives."

"Thanks mate."

"Good weird. Very good weird. But no, your hero family? Regularly gives crazy bets to underage wizards?"

"All the time." Albus returned to the main point. "Back to why you'd take a bet involving flying. Or, scratch that. Why're you talking to my brother?"

"I don't mind flying, I just don't like Quidditch. Me, athletics? Hah!"

"Again: James?"

Scorpius grinned. "What can I say, I like you Potters and Weasleys. None of you think I'm evil."

"Rose regularly says you're bonkers."

"Bonkers, yes. Not evil."

Albus scoffed. "High standard you have there."

"Says the Slippery Slyther—ow, OW! No need to kick me, I was joking! Sensitive much?"

"I can't believe I have to say this," Professor Longbottom said in exasperation, "but you can't throw puffapods at your classmates! Did you see the mess they made?"

Albus had, though the plants that had flowered on impact had covered the bullies nicely.

"They also cause dizziness but, ah, it's minor enough." Longbottom waved it away, looking at Albus blearily. "Could you not act like your brother?"

That was a new one. Albus was usually negatively compared to his dad or uncles. Or his mum, if it was about his lack of Quidditch skills. "I'm sorry. I could help clean up?"

The professor eyed the flowering mess in his greenhouse. "I think it'd be best not to. Would it be pointless to ask why you were chucking them around?"

Because Karl Jenkins and Yann Fredericks had pushed him into the venemous tentacula after the previous class, and they bloody well deserved it. "I was being stupid. 'm sorry."

Neville sat down next to him, moving a watering pot to the side. "Albus," he said seriously, "I'm not blind. I can tell when a student's being picked on."

Albus looked elsewhere, not wanting to meet his gaze.

"This was stupid, you're right. But you aren't the type to throw the first punch." Neville sat back in his chair. "Y'know, I was bullied once upon a time."

Albus couldn't keep back a snort. Sure, his family might've mentioned it. But Neville Longbottom was a war hero! He was the cool teacher!

"I'm not saying I know exactly what you're going through, but I know what it's like to be compared to your parents." Neville hesitated. "Yes, Harry and Ginny are good friends of mine. Though, I always thought they were in the wrong for…ah…"

The student blinked back up at him, interested.

"…the names they chose for you three." Neville sighed. "It's hard enough living up to family legends. To add famous namesakes to that list? Never mind one that—" he abruptly cut himself off, "ah, you know what I mean."

Albus felt strangely vindicated. "Thanks."

"Don't get me wrong, those House Points I took off still stand. But this is a bigger issue than a few thrown puffapods." Professor Longbottom leaned forward with his elbows on the table, eyeing him seriously. "I told you this last year, but maybe one of these times it'll sink in. Al, I care about you. I don't give a damn that you're in Slytherin and that I'm not your Head of House. I will always be here for you, okay kiddo? I can't take down bullies, but I can support you. I'll also be here if you ever want to talk."

Albus looked back at his Uncle Neville, giving him a soft smile. "Thanks. I, maybe I'll talk, later. Thanks for…you know."

His second year whirled by like a snowstorm, spinning him forward with it. Easter hols were gone in a blink, where suddenly even exams were a thing of the past.

The Hogwarts Express chugged him back to London in the summer haze, and Albus looked forward to anything but gazing back at Scotland. Then he was surrounded by family (more than the usual pestering cousins and brother). Well, them and the hordes of people that were always around his father.

But summer drifted by pleasantly enough, with constantly flooing between relatives and going shopping in Diagon Alley with his mum.

He also made some small trips with his dad, which was weird in and of itself.

"Gorgeous day, isn't it." Harry Potter looked around Trafalgar Square with a small smile. James and Lily were at a Quidditch game with their mum, but Albus had never been interested in that. When his dad had mentioned an outing to muggle London, Albus had just been bored enough to jump at the chance. They'd already gotten ice cream, so it was shaping up okay. "I always loved it out here."

"Really?" Albus asked doubtfully, pausing from licking his lemon ice lolly. People swarmed around them, from tourists snapping photos of the lion statues to odd artists painting on the ground. "You hate crowds."

His dad chuckled. "I hate crowds that know me." He took a bite of his ice cream, glancing as a group of teenagers slid past them on the railing. "But this?" He continued on, swallowing the bite. "People milling about in the sun, racing to museums or the theatre? It's nice."

Albus sort of agreed. There was a busker back by the National Gallery and a wave of violin music drifted over the giant square. Traffic constantly bustled around them and he was slightly amazed at what muggles could do. The Nelson Monument alone was huge, not to mention the skyscrapers. His dad must've guessed what he was thinking, because he chuckled.

"I should've brought you kids out here more. Muggles make some amazing things, you know." Harry glanced around, smiling unconsciously. They both wore jeans and plain shirts, and the young wizard was slightly surprised his dad seemed comfortable in something that wasn't a cape. "I grew up in Surrey and spent so many summers just riding the underground. It might sound odd, but it was a good place to think."

Albus frowned, thinking about the old stories. "I thought you grew up with the Dursleys?"

"I did. So when I was old enough, I escaped to the city whenever I could. One Tube ride in and I was a world away." His dad shifted on the stone step, eating more of the ice cream to keep it from melting. "It was almost as good as escaping up to Hogwarts."

"Really?" Albus asked, a bit amazed. He'd always thought Hogwarts had been his dad's favourite place.

"Really." Harry clicked his tongue. "Y'know, magic is everywhere if you know where to look."

…or his dad was just being his usual, strange self. Albus had some more of the lolly, grateful for it in the heat. He considered asking for a cooling charm.

"I've been wanting to spend more time with you," his dad continued gently. "I love to talk to you and I'd like to do it more. What d'ya say?"

Albus paused. He thought about something else. "Why didn't you want to go to the Tornado's game?"

"Pardon?"

"The Tornado's game against the Arrows. You love Quidditch. Why'd you want to go to muggle London instead?"

His dad chuckled lightly, catching up. "'Dumb old dad' does pay attention. I know you don't care for Quidditch."

"Oh." Albus looked at his lap.

"I thought it'd be a good day for it to be just the two of us."

"Was this mum's idea?"

"All mine, I swear."

"Did Uncle Neville talk to you?" Albus kept pressing, this being slightly too odd.

His dad hesitated. "I know the other students are being unkind…"

"I knew it!"

"Al—Albus!" Harry groaned. "I just wanted to spend a nice day with you. There's no ulterior motive. Can we not fight?"

"Sure dad, sure."

Then there was his actual friend. The one he mailed back and forth, and flooed back and forth, and the one who got sadder as the summer progressed.

Albus talked to his parents about Scorpius coming to visit. He didn't actually think it was a good idea, but Mrs. Malfoy was getting really sick and he wanted Scorpius to be distracted. He emphasised the 'sick mum' bit to his parents, because he figured that would convince them.

His dad had looked slightly clammy and his mum had immediately agreed, so Albus figured it'd worked. He might've overdone it though: his mum became overly concerned in the lead-up to the August visit, asking Albus about all of his friend's favourite treats. "And if there's any allergies, because I need to know that love."

"It's fine," Albus sighed, squirming in their kitchen. At least she was buying sugary treats, which was a plus for his health-crazed mum (having an ex-pro athlete in the family sometimes backfired). "He doesn't have any allergies and he will literally eat anything."

"Your dad's been working on getting most of the stranger things out of the house," Ginny bit her lip, "though there might still be a loose hinkypunk or two."

"It's all good. Scorpius knows we're weird."

"Good weird, dear." His mum said absentmindedly, glancing around. "I've talked to your siblings and they'll behave this week or so help me. I can't tell you how glad I am that you're having a friend to stay! Though it's wretched about his mother, do you think we should bring anything over?"

"Mum. Stop."

"I've been meaning to reach out to Astoria Malfoy for ages, what with you and Scorpius being so close." She continued. "I do hope she feels better soon. Either way, it will be wonderful to get to know him."

The weeklong visit wasn't turning out as horrible as Albus thought it would be. James had only set the curtains on fire twice, his mum was constantly beaming about Scorpius' manners, and his dad was making an effort to be cheerful. Nobody had mentioned the nundo in the room and Albus was thrilled that bringing a Malfoy home hadn't yet blown up in his face. They'd already gotten through five days, so they were practically in the clear.

Of course, there was Lily. She'd been peculiarly quiet the past few days, taking it in turns to stare unflinchingly as Scorpius fidgeted. Albus had considered asking her but, all in all, thought it best he didn't know. He hadn't long to wait to find out, anyway.

It was after lunch on Tuesday and Albus was happily ignorant of what his parents had snuck off to do. He wasn't paying attention to the dog napping in the corner and was unaware that James had nipped into the kitchen and had met a traumatising sight (one he thought he might as well take advantage of). He also hadn't realised Lily was making a beeline straight to them in the living room. He and Scorpius had been chatting about Gobstone rules when she stormed in, dropped onto an armchair, and glared.

"You have a nose!" Lily accused. Scorpius blinked at his equally confused friend. "I've looked through every book, every photo I can find, and you look absolutely nothing like him."

"Uh…" Scorpius poked Albus, inching away from the small girl, "what now?"

It dawned on Albus and he let out a sigh. He should have seen this coming. "The rumour isn't true, Lils. Calm down. Scorpius isn't related to Voldemort."

"Why did you get my hopes up!" she cried out, now staring at Albus in betrayal. "Here I was, thinking you'd backed out of our plan for Houses because, oh lookie, Voldemort's son. But no, nope. Not him. So why did you choose Slytherin?"

Albus put aside Scorpius' bewildered look and the continuing pokes to his side. "First off? It was your plan for the Houses, not mine. Just because you want to take over Britain—"

"Uh, Albus?" Scorpius said in a stage whisper, staring at Lily with wide eyes. The poking didn't pause. "Albus?"

He ignored the nudged hints, "—doesn't mean you can rope me into your plan. It was my choice, alright? I know your whole theory that the true Slytherins sneak into other Houses—"

Lily was properly offended. "It isn't only a theory!"

"—but it'll just take one blown up tower for your 'Slytheriness' to be revealed. It doesn't matter what House I'M in. I still don't see why you want to sneak into Hufflepuff."

"Because it's a ready-made army!" Lily said indignantly. "Loyalty and friendship in spades, ripe for a leader. Here I thought you were getting close to a future Dark Lord, but nope. Do I have to do everything myself? Do I, huh? He has a nose!"

"Albus," Scorpius said weakly, still prodding the now numb spot on his friend's side. "Albus, your sister is terrifying. Albus, I think she's growing fangs. Albus, Albus? Albus!"

"What Scorp? She doesn't have fangs, just sharp teeth."

"I honestly thought you were the weird Potter, I really did. Good weird, very good weird." Scorpius hadn't taken his wary gaze off of Lily's smirk. "But this week…sweet Merlin, the explosions…the snapping hinkypunk in the closet…and I thought, I genuinely thought that at least your sister was cute and adorable and normal."

"Mum thinks I'm adopted," Lily said sweetly, eyes now twinkling. "Dad says she's joking and has the baby pictures to prove it. But Uncles George and Ron have a betting book on it, so there's that, and Aunt Hermione thinks I'm the result of 'foolishly mixed Potter and Weasley genes'. She has graphs and everything! It's really cool."

"A week, Lils," Albus nearly pleaded. "All I asked for was one week of normality. Instead, you accuse my best friend of being Voldemort's son?"

"I meant it as a compliment," Lily said defensively.

"In what world is that a compliment!"

"Just because you have a narrow-minded vision and can't see an opportunity begging to be exploited—"

"…best friend?"

The siblings stopped yelling, turning to blink at a suddenly smiling Scorpius. Albus recalled his words and flushed. "Well, of course you are. Who else would it be?"

Whatever ensuing awkwardness was halted by Lily's high-pitched shriek. Albus had been about to tell her that, really Lily, normal people were sentimental at times…when she started swearing.

"JAMES!" Lily stormed, pushing her grinning older (older) brother off of her (from where he'd entered and jumped onto her very much occupied seat). "What the bloody he—"

"Language sis." James didn't scoot. Snuffles sniffled in the corner, before letting out a soft bark and returning to sleep.

"There are other seats!"

"Would've defeated the point of a noisy entrance." He took note of the others in the room. "Lo Albus, Albus' friend. Don't you look chummy on that couch there."

"They were being mushy," Lily sniffed. "Give me back my armchair!"

"Not your armchair."

"It has my name engraved on it, right there!"

James looked at her (and it) askance. "You carved your name…did you put glitter…?"

"James, Lily," Albus said with what he felt was a world of patience, "could you bugger off? I'm trying to show Scorpius we aren't mental."

James snickered, distracted from the chair. "So you invited him home? Oh Albie, Albie."

"It's Albus!"

"Gimme back my seat!" Lily stomped her foot. Scorpius inched further away from her. The dog mewed in the corner, rolling over in his dream.

"Be thankful you're an only child," Albus told his friend, not bothering keeping his voice low.

"But where's the fun in that?" James put in with a wide grin. "See Malfoy, I'll show you. If you—gah! Don't kick me, Lils. I'm getting up."

"Get up faster!"

"Barmy sister." James rubbed his shin as Lily retook the chair. He turned back to the couch with an aggrieved sigh, rummaging in his pocket and pulling out a small object. "See, siblings are great for cooking up trouble. Fun trouble, though, nothing better! It's especially great when you're related to me: you're welcome, baby siblings."

"Ignore him," Albus advised Scorpius, who was staring at James in shock. "He wants us to ask what he's holding."

"It's a time-turner!" Scorpius said breathlessly, accidentally taking the wind out of James' sails. The older boy deflated, frowning at the blond for ruining the surprise. "I am almost definitely, positively sure that's a time-turner. Time-turners are so not a good idea. At all, ever. Absolutely not a fan!"

"Time-turner?" Lily perked up, looking at James with new interest. Scorpius pointed at her, nervousness increasing.

"See? See! You're proving my point. Time-turners, horrible idea. Albus, your siblings have scary glints in their eyes!"

"They always have those." Albus frowned at the object in James' hands. It was a golden orb with a crystalline hourglass levitating in its centre. "How'd you get that?"

"I ran across mum and dad being gross in the kitchen." James made a face. "What're they thinking, snogging on the kitchen table. Don't they know we eat there?" He shook his head against the unwelcome image. "Anyway, after I escaped the kitchen I realised it'd be the perfect time to search for dad's Cloak. So I snuck into his office—"

"Yep, you're dead," Albus summarised, the upstairs office forbidden territory without an adult. As fond of fires and explosions as the Potter kids were, there were lines they knew not to cross. "Have all of dad's dire warnings gone over your head?"

James gave him an appealing look. "I wasn't going to touch anything. I was only innocently trying to steal the Cloak."

"I don't think you know what 'innocently' means." Scorpius was still eyeing the time-turner. "Eh, what Cloak?"

"Invisibility Cloak. Big bad family heirloom that dad hogs. It doesn't matter though, I didn't find it," James replied. "But I got something nearly as good!"

"Far be it for me to get into your family's business, but you can't be that stupid."

"I can and I am," he winked, not put off. "What's the matter, Malfoy? Where's your sense of adventure?"

"Back way, way far away from any time-turners." Scorpius turned to Albus, hushing his voice. "Very bad idea. There be paradoxes ahead! Big no-no. Nope, I'm not going anywhere near it."

Lily scooted forward, still curious. "What does it do? Is it like Aunt Hermione's stories, where she and dad went back in time a few hours?"

Scorpius stared at her, mouthing her words in confusion. But Albus had long since frozen, remembering what Rose had said months ago. "I, I don't think so. James, I wouldn't mess around with that."

"Spoke to Rose too, did you?" James said. "I don't know how she finds out all this ruddy stuff. Still, it's good to be connected to the Weasley gossip grapevine."

"It can go back years," Albus murmured to Scorpius in explanation. "Rose told me that, ah, someone had handed it in to the Ministry and that my dad had hidden it."

James smirked. "Not hidden very well. Mind you, this house is kind of a fortress to anyone not invited in. But dad should've known better!"

"You have to put that back." Albus was now, like Scorpius, eyeing the time-turner as though it was wont to explode. "It sounds dangerous. If that thing activates…?"

"We'll be able to see dad's adventures." James was back to being smug as he shoved Albus away when he tried to grab it. "You know he always leaves out the details. Even Uncle Ron's silent on tonnes of subjects. 'You're too young' and all that rot. This'll solve that!"

"You'd risk messing with time?"

"That could be fun…" Lily piped in.

"Lily!"

"I was joking!" she huffed. "I'm fine right here, thanks. You can go parading around time, s'all good. But I'm fine with daddy's stories and don't care."

"Come on," James focussed on his brother, seeing that the other two wouldn't be budged. "Aren't you curious? All the mad stuff he and mum did, all the whispers they never explain. We could go back, hide, watch the action, and when we return no one'll know we even left."

Albus eyed the time-turner warily. Against his better judgement (and Scorpius' vehement pokes to his side), James' enthusiasm began to rub off. He imagined seeing the many family stories and legends in real life. They couldn't do any harm if they hid, could they? Why not have a proper adventure, just like his dad? It's what he'd always wanted: a chance to prove he could be great.

"No." Albus shook away the thoughts. "This thing's dangerous, it's a stupid idea."

James humphed, as though the idea that a Potter with Weasley blood would avoid danger was preposterous. "We're talking about a time-turner. We could see the flying car! The escape from Gringotts! Why Professor Longbottom killed the giant snake!"

"Who's killing what now?" A deep voice sounded from the hallway. James cursed, stuffing the time-turner back in his pocket.

"Nothing!"

"Nobody!"

"No killing here!"

"Who did what now?"

As four voices yelled out simultaneously, Harry Potter stepped into the room. It said a lot that he didn't question this or the quasi-innocent looks on his children's faces. Instead, he focussed on Scorpius' fearful expression with a light frown. "Alright there, Scorpius?"

The Malfoy meeped, returning to frantically poking Albus.

"Okay…" the wizard drifted off and turned back to his kids. "I came in to say your mum's making a Diagon run. Does anybody want anything?"

"Nothing!"

"Nobody!"

"Nothing to see here!"

"Who did what now?"

Albus facepalmed, not needing to look at his father to tell the man had become suspicious.

Harry glanced around the room speculatively. "Please don't tell me there's another cornish pixie hiding in the cushions."

"James has your time-turner!" Scorpius blurted out before his hand covered his mouth.

"Malfoy!" James exclaimed, the loud noises making Snuffles bark and jump in a panic. With Scorpius' words hanging in the air, the paling Harry took no notice. "Damn, and I like you."

Surprise flashed across Harry's face. He moved towards his oldest son as though nearing an Erumpent horn. "Excuse me? How do you even—no, that doesn't matter. Do you really have it?"

James hesitated before crossing his arms and staring at his father defiantly. "Sure. Yeah, I do. I wanted to see some of your adventures. What's wrong with that? Not like you'd ever tell us the truth about them."

Harry drew in a shaky breath with an edge of panic. He took more cautious steps forward. "Listen to me. That time-turner might be unstable and it's surely dangerous. It could activate, do you understand? This is not the right way to, to protest or what have you! Hand it back to me, slowly and carefully. Albus, Lily, Scorpius: all three of you, go to the kitchen."

No one moved. James was less sure than before, taking the necklace out of his pocket. But he wasn't done. "If it's so dangerous, why'd you have it?"

"Exactly because it's dangerous!" Harry's frustration showing through his words. "There were security concerns so Hermione recommended me. I only agreed because I thought it'd be safe in my locked office!" His voice was shaking by the end. "We'll speak about that later, just give it back before anything happens. Everyone except James, kitchen! NOW!"

Scorpius jerkily moved to stand but Albus grabbed his arm, focussed on the scene. James scowled, not convinced by his dad. "You've used a time-turner before. They can't be that bad."

"It wasn't one that could go back years!" The wizard's exasperation became obvious. He winced as his son tossed the chain up, catching it with a smirk. "DON'T DO THAT! Didn't you hear me? This can go back decades!"

"I know!" James snatched the necklace from the air again, though his arrogance had been replaced with anger. Keeping the chain nestled in his grip, he glared at his stunned father. "That's the point. I WANT TO KNOW THE TRUTH! Not bits and pieces of rubbish stories. You think you're protecting me? You think I don't want to know? You think I'm not constantly questioned about your adventures? Right fun that is!"

The older wizard had frozen and seemed a thousand miles away, as though remembering a distant event. Lily and Scorpius seemed as stunned as Albus felt, for a screaming and vaguely insightful James was about as common as a Wrackspurt sighting. Albus mentally chalked up this day on the, 'let's-bring-home-a-Malfoy' trip a failure. Maybe they could do something better tomorrow, like avoid his family and hightail it to Hogsmeade.

Albus returned to reality just as Snuffles yelped (his overworked nerves finally snapped by the scream). But he looked away from the dog to his brother's red flush, for as soon as the yell had left James' lips his furious expression had turned to apologetic surprise.

"Look, I…" James fingered the time-turner nervously. Opening and closing his mouth the words were stumbled. The message came out clear as day, for both father and son were suddenly apologetic as a line had been crossed, "it's not the right way to do this, I know. Sorry. I…here."

James began to hand the necklace back to his father. Yet at that moment Snuffles—still panicking—raced for the door. The startled boy in the way buckled over as the dog collided with his legs, the chain spiralling out of his grip.

Harry dived for the necklace flying out of James' hands. Albus and Scorpius similarly leapt forward. Lily too jumped into the fray, but only succeeded in knocking into James and pushing them both further towards the chaos.

"NO!" Harry yelled as the chain slipped through his fingers, his seeker abilities falling short as his path was obstructed by his children. "GET BACK!"

In hitting the floor the hourglass snapped neatly in half, sending an outrageous amount of sand out into the air. Harry scrambled to push the others away, but to no avail. The sand swept by an unnatural wind was already all around them: crumbling in Lily's hair, sticking to Harry's glasses, licking Scorpius' tongue, spiralling around James' fist, and sticking stubbornly like an itch to the end of Albus' nose.

The room and world steadily disappeared. Flickering out of reality, the sand, broken picture frames, and Snuffles' echoing barks surrounded the five people struggling to escape (or to even see through the inferno). Albus, rapidly blinking, got a last flash of his mum. She'd come to a running stop in the doorway, gaping as her family faded into the swirling cloud of sand.

A rush of wind, a booming wave: the clock breaks.

A/N: Why am I changing it so that James messes with the time-turner rather than Albus? In this version, Albus never met Amos Diggory. Albus' canon reason for going back in time was to rescue Cedric: he had a purpose, he wanted to save an innocent life while fixing his dad's so-called mistake. In this fanfic, James doesn't have the same call to action. But he's a more impulsive person so he has a different purpose; he wants to prove himself and have his own adventure.

Another reason I'm changing it? I disliked that "Cursed Child" didn't show the dynamics between all the Potters. That Albus is the only sibling that has issues with his parents is a stretch for me. Like yo, their parents are world-famous and they're named after dead relatives/heroes. This is what therapists dream of.

Also, honestly? I'm tired of seeing plots where, 'ooo, the Slytherins screwed up and the Gryffindors have to swoop in with a rescue'. Gryffindors are reckless! Why not have a story where that recklessness spectacularly backfires?