DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter.

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Chapter 4: Not Diggory's

"Floo powder's a lot quicker, dear, but goodness me, if you've never used it before - " Molly Weasley, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

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Hermione was sitting on the bed, her back on the headboard while reading a book on magical theory for a bit of light reading. The Theory of Magic wasn't her favourite subject, but fascinating nonetheless.

The chapter about accidental magic was getting interesting, so even if she already heard her husband enter the room, she did not tear her eyes away from the book.

She felt him sat beside her and grabbed her book gently. "Don't lose my page," she protested.

Ced dog-eared the page she was reading and placed it on his bedside table. She looked at him sternly. "That's not a proper way to treat a book," she scolded him.

"I'll fix that later, and it will be good as new," her husband said, flashing his crooked smile - the smile she loved most. He pulled her body to him, peppering her face with gentle kisses. Hermione smiled and flung her arms around him. After twenty years of being married, they still sometimes make out like a horny teenage couple. Perhaps because they never became one; horny teenage couple, that is, even if they were madly in love with each other. They were model students.

"What are you laughing about?" Ced whispered. He was now holding the back of her head carefully while pressing wet kisses on her neck.

"Just us, how we behaved," she replied.

Ced didn't pull away. He pushed her gently on the bed and positioned himself above her, but careful not to crush her. He unbuttoned her pajama top and continued kissing her bare chest. "What about it?" he asked between kisses.

She couldn't answer because she was moaning already and wrapping her legs around his waist, wanting to feel more of him.

Ced returned to kissing her face. "What about it?" he asked again affectionately.

She met his grey eyes and cupped his face. "You remember what our housemates said during our Hogwarts days? We act like a married couple - no improper display of affection or snogging in the alcoves. But after my graduation, we moved in together and made out like horny teenagers," she laughed.

Ced laughed as well, and it was music to her ears. He caressed her nose with his. "You're such a good girl, staying out of trouble. Our parents were quite happy."

"Most Hufflepuffs stay out of trouble," she commented.

Ced's smile faded a bit and sighed heavily.

"What is it?" she asked.

"I think it's time we use the Vow," he said.

She frowned. "Unspeakable's Vow?"

He nodded with a sad smile and got up to sit properly on the bed, pulling her in between his legs, but still facing each other. When they got married, Hermione and Cedric were bestowed with the so-called Unspeakable's Vow. It was a Vow for Unspeakable and their spouse, used if the former had a secret he didn't want to keep from the latter that has something to do with work.

"Why? Did Albus Potter say something about us?" she asked.

Ced swallowed and nodded. "But didn't you notice anything? The way he looks at you..."

"I noticed something, of course," she admitted. "I thought maybe, he knows me very well and the children, too."

Ced hugged her tighter and buried his face on her hair, inhaling her scent. "It seems you're not a Hufflepuff in his time and we weren't together."

She gently pulled away. "What?!" she exclaimed, sounding scandalized.

Ced looked at her calmly and smiled fondly.

"Did he tell you directly?" she asked.

"No. He didn't say about me, not married to you, but he knew Rose and Hugo. You saw his face when you introduced me to him. It was like he'd seen a ghost, so I must've - "

"Don't say it!" she demanded with a stern look on her face, shaking her head.

Ced sighed and ran a hand on her hair. "All right... And well, you were their Minister for Magic."

She frowned even more. "Me? Working at the Ministry? Joining politics?"

"Maybe something happened to me... or out there, that's why you worked in law enforcement," he quipped.

She shook her head. "No. I don't want to hear about it." She buried her face in his neck and hugged him tightly. "I don't want to imagine a world or a universe where you don't exist, and we're not together... Just no."

Ced ran a soothing hand on her back, and the other hand rested on her waist. He kissed her head lovingly. "Don't worry. No matter how many times he traveled, he won't ruin our universe; this universe," he said with assurance. "We will be here, together, until death do us part," he promised.

And that was enough for Hermione. She looked up to her husband lovingly and initiated a kiss. "I love you."

"I love you more."

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The following morning, with little to no sleep, Albus still joined the Diggorys for breakfast. Aunt Hermione - Mrs. Diggory, he reminded himself - prepared a fresh mossy green wizard's robe for him. He thought it was Hugo's and Mrs. Diggory just magically made adjustments. Albus reminded himself that he has to refrain from calling her 'Aunt' because here, they weren't a family.

"Hello, Mr. Potter," greeted Mr. Diggory who was already seated at the head of the table. He folded the morning paper he was holding and vanished it non-verbally.

Mrs. Diggory, Hugo, and Rose entered the dining room, each of them carrying plates and food.

"Good morning," Mrs. Diggory greeted him.

"Good morning, Mrs. Diggory. Thanks for the robe, Hugo," he said.

"Anytime," the younger wizard said.

"Have a seat beside Rose, Mr. Potter," encouraged Mrs. Diggory.

He obliged and soon, they started eating breakfast. Time passed uneventfully. Al thought that Rose and Hugo were not encouraged to ask him questions.

An hour later, Mr. Diggory was already saying goodbye to his wife and the children.

"Mum's going to work today so Nana and Pop are coming over to watch you," he told Rose and Hugo.

"Yes Dad, we know," replied Rose, standing on her tiptoes to kiss her father's cheek, followed by her brother.

Mr. Diggory ruffled Hugo's hair after planting a kiss on the young wizard's forehead. "Don't give Nana a heart attack by flying too high, yeah?"

Hugo laughed. "I won't Dad."

Al looked away at the scene. It reminded him of himself and his father before he started Hogwarts.

Rose and Hugo returned to the kitchen to do the dishes and cleanup. Mrs. Diggory walked towards her waiting husband.

"Don't stay up too late tonight waiting for me," she said.

"Can't promise that," the man chuckled.

Al saw the couple exchange chaste kisses and hugged each other tightly.

When Mrs. Diggory walked past him, she gave him a motherly smile and even patted his shoulder, as if saying 'good luck'.

"Come on, Mr. Potter. Let's use the Floo in my study," invited Mr. Diggory.

He followed him to the other room. "Say 'The Department of Mysteries, office number two'," he instructed offering him Floo powder.

"Aren't we going to take the visitor's entrance?" he asked. As a child - even if he was the Harry Potter's child - he would always take the visitor's entrance even if his father was with him.

"You're a special case," he grinned. "Like Unspeakables, time-travelers are allowed to Floo directly to the office of the Department of Mysteries. We don't like being seen, you know."

Al nodded and moved to stand in the fireplace, turning around to face Mr. Diggory.

When he reached out his hand for the Floo powder, something behind the older wizard caught his eyes; something he hadn't noticed sitting on a small shelf. He had seen that thing before. In his time, his father had it, but unlike Mr. Diggory, his father kept it in the storage room of Grimmauld Place. He saw photos of it in modern history books and he even asked his mum why his father was not putting it in the library for display. His mum answered that it brought back bad memories to his father.

Mr. Diggory noticed where he was staring at.

He smiled sadly, probably knowing there was another thing different in his timeline. "Ah, yes. The Triwizard Cup."