Scorpius
The blonde boy beside Al looked up, his grey eyes wide and his face paler than usual. Without a moment of warning, Ginny had reached up and pulled him into a bone-crushing hug worthy of her own mother.
"Oh, I'm so glad you're okay," she said. Eventually, she let him go and sat back a little, examining him from head to toe. "You are okay, right? Nothing's hurt? You didn't -"
"- Gin," Harry said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Let him breathe, honey."
Across the room, Neville shot a strange look at Ron, who shrugged. Now was not the time, after all.
"How are you doing, Scorp?"
"Uh ... okay, I guess," he said. "But my dad's gone missing, and so have all of you, and -"
"- Whoa there, bud," Harry said. "We're fine. Everyone is safe. Including your dad."
The stressed look fell away from Scorpius' face, replaced instead with one of fear. "He's here?"
Harry nodded. "He is."
"And he's - he's like you?"
With another sigh, Harry nodded again.
"But that means ..." Scorpius trailed off. He took a moment to look around the room, noticing James, who appeared to be guarding the door his parents had just come through, and Ron and Neville over in the corner. Silently, Ron gave him a little wave. Turning back to Harry and Ginny, he said, "When exactly are we?"
In the corner of the room, Neville blanched. Harry, however, grinned. "You know, you're a smart kid, Scorp. You could give Rosie a run for her money."
"No way," Al interjected, speaking up in a way his best friend had never seen him do before, "he's too lovesick!"
Still grinning, Harry looked over at Ginny. "Remind you of anyone?"
"You were never lovesick," she told him. "You were too daft to notice me."
"I'm noticing you now."
While Al and James groaned, Ron rolled his eyes. From across the room, he called out, "Hey! Can you flirt with my sister on your own time? You're on the clock, man!"
"Hang on a minute," Harry said, holding up a hand. "You really expect me to keep the kids safe, still parent them, attend classes, pass them, do everything in my power to keep the timeline intact, and be the Auror in charge?"
Ron shrugged. "Basically, yeah."
Harry laughed. It was the first time since he'd woken up here that he'd actually, truly, properly laughed.
Ginny, too, was grinning. "I mean, it's all in a day's work, right?"
That, however, was the straw that broke the camel's back for Neville. Dressed in his pyjamas, wearing only one slipper on the wrong foot, and with one arm in his dressing gown, he yelled, "Will somebody please explain what the bloody hell is going on?!"
Al, James and Scorpius all jumped. Sure, they'd seen Professor Longbottom get upset at students before, but no one had ever heard him truly yell.
"Nev," Ginny said calmly, "you need to calm down."
"I will not bloody well calm down!" he continued, stomping his feet like a child throwing a tantrum. "I will not! You - you're all talking like - like -"
"- Neville -"
"- No, Harry!" he yelled. "It's like you're not you!"
Once the words were said, they hung in the air for a solid minute. Silently, the others shared significant looks.
"Oh, Merlin," Neville breathed, clutching his wand nervously. "You're - you're not you. Are you?"
Calmly, Harry rose to his full height and held both hands in the air. He took a tentative step toward Neville, but stopped when his friend raised his wand, pointing it menacingly at him.
"That's just the problem, Nev," Harry said calmly. "We are us. Just - well, not the us-es we used to be."
"What does that mean?!" Neville demanded.
Harry glanced to Ginny. They both knew they couldn't tell him. They couldn't say those words out loud.
James, however, didn't appear to share their same reservations. When no one else spoke, James rolled his eyes and said, "Oh for God's sake, you bunch of chickens. Neville - we're from the future. There, I said it. Is everyone gonna calm down now, or -"
It wasn't the sound of anyone speaking over him that cut James off. It was Neville literally passing out cold, and the thunk of his head hitting his trunk with momentum.
"Oh, shit," Ron said, crouching down beside him. He grabbed the nearest piece of cloth - one of his favourite bright orange Chudley Cannons t-shirts - and held as much pressure as he could to the wound, which was bleeding everywhere.
Harry was there in an instant. By the time anyone else had come running from the surrounding dormitories, he'd already conjured a stretcher and he, Ron, and James had picked Neville up and placed him on it.
"Step aside, people!" Ron was yelling.
"Make a hole!" Harry added and they forced their way through the crowd of boys on the stairs, levitating Neville and the stretcher behind them.
"Is that Potter?"
"What'd he to do Longbottom?"
"Guy's gone crackers, now he's attacking his own friends!"
Ignoring the whispers, which were quickly turning into full-blown conversations, Harry looked to Ginny over his shoulder and said, "Take the boys, go get McGonagall. Meet us in the Hospital Wing."
"Harry, I -"
"- Not now, Gin!"
It took maybe ten minutes for Ginny and the boys to meet them. The doors flew open with a bang, and Ginny and Professor McGonagall came striding in side-by-side, both clearly women on a mission. The three boys trailed behind them, all obviously quite nervous about what was going to happen next.
"Potter!" Professor McGonagall barked as she strode purposefully across the Hospital Wing. "Did you attack him?"
"No, ma'am."
Her voice dropped slightly as she said, "And are you sure about that?"
The three boys exchanged very confused looks, but none of them said anything.
"Quite sure, Minerva," Harry said confidently. "That hasn't started yet."
"What hasn't started yet?" James asked, but he was ignored.
"Good," Professor McGonagall said curtly. She turned to Madam Pomfrey, who was tending to Neville's wound. "And how is the patient?"
"He'd be a lot better if Mr Potter would let me treat him."
Professor McGonagall raised an eyebrow at Harry.
"I'm just saying, I've seen a lot of these injuries before. He could have a concussion -"
"- And he could be perfectly fine," Madam Pomfrey said with a frown. "Healing is what I do, Potter. He gave it a nasty whack, but it's just a flesh wound. Lots of blood, but he'll be fine."
"But -"
Harry was cut off mid-thought when Ginny approached him. She wrapped one arm around his waist and with the other tentatively took hold of his elbow. She rested her chin on his shoulder and said, "He's fine, Harry."
Out of nowhere, Harry found himself blinking back tears. It took him a moment to realise why: He was remembering the aftermath of the Battle of Hogwarts. He was remembering Neville being struck by debris, how he'd had almost exactly the same wound. Except this time, it wasn't a Death Eater who had caused his friend's injury. It was Harry himself.
"Uh, Minerva," he said thickly, allowing his wife to move him away from the currently unconscious Neville's bed. "Scorpius -"
"- Will also be just fine," Professor McGonagall said, smiling at the timid newcomer. "I've sent Professor Snape to fetch your father. They'll be here shortly."
As the door opened behind them, she added, "Or, right now."
Draco Malfoy stomped into the Hospital Wing behind Professor Snape, who himself looked none-too-happy to be there.
"And why exactly was I summoned, Potter? Some of us are trying to survive this nightmare, you know," Draco said, clearly not having seen his son yet. When Professor McGonagall took one step sideways, however, Draco stopped dead in his tracks and gasped. "... Scorpius?"
"Hi, dad," Scorpius said softly.
Draco crossed the room quickly and pulled his son into a tight hug. "Oh, you're okay. You are okay, right? I've been so worried about -"
"- I'm fine, dad," Scorpius told him, pulling himself out of his father's tight embrace. "Really glad to see you, though."
On the other side of the Hospital Wing, Professor Snape said in his usual drawl, "Is anyone going to explain why Potter attacked Longbottom in the dormitory? I would have thought duelling amongst students would be against the rules, Professor McGonagall."
"Oh, shut up," Harry said, unable to hold it together one moment longer. "How long is it going to take you to realise I'm not my father? Oh, that's right - you won't until it's too damn late!"
The room around them was dead silent. Eventually, Professor Snape said, "And what exactly does that mean?"
Not for the first time, Harry felt the nudges of someone else surveying the edges of his mind. With every fibre of willpower in his body, he willed himself to put those mental walls up. With great effort, he managed to grunt, "Get ... out ... of ... my ... head."
Professor Snape took a few steps backward, almost as though the force of Harry's words had pushed him there.
The two men stood on opposite sides of the room glaring at each other, each breathing heavily from the effort of the encounter. It wasn't until Al stepped forward and quietly said, "Dad," that they broke their stare.
Harry found himself looking to his son in the same way Al would normally look to him. Al gave his dad a small, encouraging smile, and Harry sent him a grateful nod in return. Beside them, Ginny's heart swelled with pride. She squeezed Harry's hand and gave him her own encouraging smile. Taking a deep breath, Harry looked back to Professor Snape.
"It means," he said in a very measured tone, "we chose our kids' names very carefully."
Snape frowned. "What has that got to do with -"
"- Albus Severus," Al said, stepping forward confidently.
"What?"
Al shrugged. "That's my name."
Professor Snape was stunned. He stared openly at Al, almost as though he wasn't quite sure how to react.
"Dad says he named me for the two bravest men he's ever met," Al continued. "Though personally, I don't see it. You're a jerk."
"Hey!" Harry said reflexively. "Mind your manners."
"Why?" James jumped in. "Sure, manners are important, but you taught us not to lie. He is literally just telling the truth, and -"
"- Knock it off, James," Ginny told him. "Now is not the time."
"No. He's right," Harry said. He turned back to Professor Snape and said, "You are a jerk. And before you say it, Gin, that is me putting it nicely."
"Is there a point to this?" Professor Snape asked in his usual drawl.
Harry smiled. He stepped forward, his hand outstretched. "I never got the chance to say thank you."
Harry stood there for a long moment with his hand outstretched. When it became clear that Professor Snape was not going to accept the handshake, he nodded awkwardly.
"Right," he said, making his way back over to Professor McGonagall. Getting back to the arrival of their newcomer, he said, "Scorp can't stay with Draco."
"And why not?" Draco demanded, at the same time Al said, "But that's not fair! We get to stay with you!"
Scorpius, however, waved a hand at his best friend. "No, Al. He's right."
"What do you mean he's right?" Al demanded. "He wants to split up you and your dad!"
"Think about it, Al," Scorpius replied, incredibly level-headed. "If I stay with my dad, I'm thrust right into the belly of the beast. I'd be stuck in a world of death eaters and dark magic."
"But he's your family."
Draco stepped forward then, a solemn look on his face. "It's not something you've ever needed to talk about, Al. You need to remember our family was on the wrong side of the war."
"So? You've changed, and -"
"- If Scorp were to walk into the Manor now, he'd be killed on sight," Draco said plainly. "As much as I don't like saying it, Harry's right. You have to stay with the Potters, bud. For your own safety."
"They're called Prewetts here, dad," Scorp said quietly.
"Okay, so you'll be a Prewett, then."
"Actually," Harry said kindly, "I've been thinking about that."
Draco raised an eyebrow. "And?"
Harry shrugged. "Whatever this thing is, it seems to be spreading through families."
Draco frowned. "So?"
Beside him, Scorpius' face paled. Pointing to the door on the other side of the Hospital Wing, he said faintly, "Dad. Look."
Draco's eyes followed his son's arm. When they landed on the doorway, however, he fell to his knees. Wordlessly, Ginny knelt down beside him with a comforting arm resting on his back.
There in the doorway stood a girl only a little younger than Ginny. She was pale, with long dark hair and brown eyes. She looked a little confused as she observed the people already in the room.
Brusquely, Professor McGonagall said, "You shouldn't be out of bed, Miss Greengrass. Quickly, now. Back to Ravenclaw Tower."
The girl, however, ignored her. She approached the blonde father-and-son purposefully. When she reached them, she wordlessly sank to the floor and wrapped her arms tightly around Draco, whose shoulders were shaking with silent sobs.
"What on earth is going -"
"- Minerva," Harry cut her off, accepting the hand Ginny held out to him as she rose once more for the floor. "Give them a minute."
"Why?" Professor McGonagall demanded.
With tears in her eyes, Ginny whispered, "It's been a long time."
When Draco and the girl finally drew apart, she looked up to Scorpius and said, "Come here, baby."
Scorpius threw himself forward, straight into the girl's arms. She pulled him close and kissed the top of his head. "Scorpius Hyperion," she whispered. "I love you to the moon and back, my boy."
Professors Snape and McGonagall both looked to Harry and Ginny with wide eyes. The Potters, however, just nodded.
On the floor, the girl looked over Scorpius' head to Draco with a smile. "You did good, Draco. You raised our boy well."
Draco shook his head. "No. Everything good, he got from you."
"You're wrong," she said, holding out a hand for him to take and gripping it tightly when he did. "My boy is brave, and loyal, and kind."
"I'm none of those things," he told her.
"Not yet," she conceded. "But you will be. Because you, Draco Malfoy, are capable of great change."
He smiled sadly. "You always did see the best in me."
"And I always will."
