DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter.

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Chapter 5: The Cursed Child

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" - and you're really famous - he's always shunted to one side whenever people see you, and he puts up with it, and he never mentions it, but I suppose this is just one time too many..." - Hermione, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

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Al sat nervously at the table in front of three Unspeakables. They were all looking at him with kindness - perhaps because he was just a child. But it was Mr. Diggory who gave him an encouraging look.

"So, all I have to do is tell you everything from the beginning? Just for the record?" he asked, making sure that he wouldn't be punished.

"That's right, Mr. Potter," said one of Mr. Diggory's colleagues who had black, curly hair and gangly form, like his Uncle Ron: Mr. Ian Fawley. In his time, this wizard was a Chaser for ENQ Team. "No need to worry. We will still allow you to return to your time and make sure that your time-turner will still work."

"But you must know, we have to cast a spell to you and your time-turner so that no one, including you, will be able to return to this universe, using the same device," added the other wizard who was good-looking, stocky like his Uncle Charlie, and had blonde hair and blue eyes. This wizard was running an establishment in Diagon Alley in his time. This was Terrence O'Brien and he came from a wealthy family.

Albus observed the closeness and familiarity of the three Unspeakables in front of him the moment they all gathered in the office. The three wizards reminded him of his dad, Uncle Ron, and Aunt Hermione.

Are they best friends since Hogwarts days? Was Cedric Diggory's passing the reason why Fawley became a Quidditch player and O'Brien became a businessman? Did the three of them dream this together? he thought.

"A penny for your thoughts?"

Al looked up at the gentle and kind face of Cedric Diggory.

He cleared his throat. "Shall I start?"

The three wizards nodded and prepared their self-writing quills.

Al's eyes sought the wizard in the middle. He gave him a sad look.

"It all started when a twenty-two-year-old witch cast a spell on Amos Diggory."

He half-expected Mr. Diggory to frown or say something to express his shock, but he simply nodded as if his father wasn't involved.

"Amos Diggory went to my father's office while I was there, too, for a visit. Well, my father is Harry Potter, Head of the Auror Office. Mr. Diggory said he heard about Theodore Nott's illegal time-turners that could take people back to years. He demanded my father to go back to the 24th of June, 1994, to save his only son from being murdered by Lord Voldemort."

The three wizards swallowed, but still kept calm yet blank faces.

When they didn't say anything, Al continued. "The witch introduced herself to me as Delphini Diggory, Amos Diggory's niece. She told me that her uncle is depressed and sick, and ever since he heard about those time-turners, all he could think about was his son, Cedric. So she convinced me to steal one of the illegal time-turners. Although I thought their only intention was to save Cedric Diggory, I didn't agree with the idea. We formed a friendship for a couple of months. She would sneak in the Forbidden Forest and would help me and my best friend with our homework. She even comforted my best friend when his mother died, and encouraged me to understand my father more. She earned our trust, so when she brought up her uncle again, my best friend and I agreed to help her."

"And your best friend's name is?" asked Mr. O'Brien casually.

"Scorpius Malfoy."

Mr. O'Brien nodded. "Please continue."

"Scorpius and I met Delphini in a pub in Knockturn Alley during Christmas break. She had a Polyjuice Potion ready for us. We were to sneak in the Ministry, Polyjuiced as Ron Weasley, my dad Harry Potter, and Hermione Granger."

"They were all Ministry workers, we assume?" asked Mr. Fawley.

He shook his head. "Only my dad and Hermione Granger. My Uncle Ron could visit anytime because... he's married to the Minister for Magic."

Mr. Diggory forced a smile when their eyes met.

"And so while my father was on an Auror mission and Madam Granger was visiting France, we broke in the Ministry and stole a time-turner. It wasn't easy, but no one saw us. The three of us traveled back to the 24th of June, 1994, the night of the Final Task of Triwizard's Tournament. We were in the maze when Delphini cast the Killing Curse on Cedric Diggory while Harry Potter was nowhere in sight." He paused for a while, composing himself.

Cedric Diggory was alive, here, in front of him, but he still vividly remembered witnessing the death.

"Scorpius and I asked her why she did that. She revealed to us that she wasn't related to the Diggorys at all. She revealed that she was the Dark Lord's daughter to Bellatrix Lestrange. She was born in December 1997, five months before the war ended. When Harry Potter was running towards the Triwizard Cup, Scorpius and I left 1994 without her and traveled back to the year 2020.

"But things were so different in that 2020. I didn't exist there because Harry Potter died at the age of fifteen, in 1996, at the Department of Mysteries. Voldemort lured him there. He lost focus after his godfather, Sirius Black, was sent beyond the Veil by Bellatrix Lestrange. Delphini Riddle was the right hand of her father; Hogwarts didn't allow Muggle-borns anymore. Scorpius's parents were married and his mother didn't die, so his life was good. But we still left.

"We traveled to the past again because that was how the time-turner works - the past and 2020. We returned to 1994 again; the night of the Final Task. Scorpius and I sent different jinxes on Cedric Diggory so that he wouldn't run into Harry. We thought we should let my father get the Cup and go to the graveyard and face Voldemort alone. We left Cedric Diggory alive. But when we returned to the year 2020, both Harry Potter and Cedric Diggory died. Harry Potter was killed in 1995, abducted during a Hogsmeade trip. And Cedric Diggory, well... he was recruited by Voldemort to be a Death Eater, but he defied him, so in the end, he was killed, too."

He heard someone sigh heavily: Mr. Fawley. He shifted on his seat, glancing at his colleagues. "Guess no dark wizard came from our house."

Mr. Diggory nodded. "It would seem so."

And Albus's guess was confirmed: the three wizards in front of him were close friends. They were all Hufflepuffs and were in the same year.

"Please continue, Mr. Potter," encouraged Mr. O'Brien.

"So we traveled again, and this time, to 1981. We tried to warn Harry Potter's parents. They survived that night. But when we returned to another 2020, they were gone. Murdered again by Voldemort, even before Harry Potter could walk, and Hogwarts was being ruled by Death Eaters. Hermione Granger never got her acceptance letter.

"Tried again, we did. Back to 1996 this time, preventing the deaths of Harry Potter and Sirius Black at the Department of Mysteries. But in 2020, we landed in Hogwarts and learned that everything was ruled by Voldemort again in Magical Britain and Harry Potter died in 1998."

He paused for a while to breathe heavily. "Thankfully, Headmaster Snape helped us. He asked me - through Scorpius, to travel back to 1991 with vials of Pensieve memories for Headmaster Dumbledore. They suggested that I go alone because Scorpius was always alive in any universe. They said we have to try something new. So yes, I traveled back to 1991 and landed at the Headmaster's office. I showed Professor Dumbledore the memories, gave him Snape's letter, and told him how Harry Potter defeated Voldemort in my time... I thought everything was well. But I returned to 2020 - this 2020. My father is alive, but still, I do not belong here."

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"Take this potion after your meal."

Al looked up and saw Mr. Diggory handing him a vial of an orange liquid.

"Strengthening Potion," the Unspeakable informed him. "You'll need that later because we require Pensieve memories from you."

He took the potion and placed it beside his plate and continued eating. They were in the pantry of the Department of Mysteries' office. It turned out that the Unspeakables isolate themselves from the other Ministry workers.

Mr. Diggory sat across from him. "You all right, kid?" he asked casually.

He nodded and met the older wizard's eyes. "You?"

"Yeah. Fine."

"You weren't shocked when you heard the events in the other universes?" he asked curiously.

"I was," he admitted. "But we were prepared for events like this. I've been in this department for over twenty years. I've heard bizarre stories. But I admit, this is the first time I've heard of a universe where my wife and I weren't together."

He looked down at his plate.

"So, Ronald Weasley, huh? And Hermione Granger. Were they close friends with Harry Potter?"

He looked up to him and nodded.

"They've been friends since they were eleven. Uncle Ron and Aunt Mione helped Dad to defeat Voldemort."

"Why did you call her 'Madam Granger'?" He could sense his great curiosity.

"She wanted to keep her maiden name," he replied promptly. That was his dad's explanation when he asked him years ago.

"And she named her children Rose and Hugo..." There was sadness in his tone.

"Rose and Hugo Granger-Weasley. Double surname," he informed.

"They're your cousins." It wasn't a question but a statement.

"Rose and I are of the same age."

"Here, Rose and Arthur Potter are of the same age, too. Hermione might not remember anymore because of the number of patients she encountered in her twenty years at St. Mungo's. But I remember the month and year Arthur Potter was born. He was born on the day of the match between Puddlemere United and Chudley Canons, in October of the year 2006 and Mrs. Potter was with me and my friends in a top box. She was writing about the game when her water broke."

Albus frowned. "I was born in August of that year, and mum said I was premature. James teased me about it a lot." He met Mr. Diggory's eyes. "So instead of Albus Potter, there is..."

"Arthur Evans Potter," replied the Unspeakable with a smile.

He sighed in relief. "That's good news for me. At least he didn't have to be pressured because of his name, unlike me," he said rather bitterly.

"So, why didn't you tell your father about Delphini, Albus Severus Potter?"

He froze at the question. He had to fill out some documents earlier for records purposes, so they learned about his full name. "After I got Sorted in Slytherin, we drifted apart. He didn't like it, and I was angry at him too for naming me after a Slytherin, but couldn't accept my house; the house that was chosen for me by the Hat. I became angrier at him, I guess when people said I was nothing like my father. We only had one thing in common: our eyes. But I didn't have his bravery, Quidditch skills, his fame. I didn't have the wit of Albus Dumbledore nor the Potions skills of Severus Snape. Some students called me a Squib, some people at Hogsmeade called me a Cursed Child. I tried to complain, but instead of encouraging me, Dad yelled at me for not trying to do more. He said I should work hard and prove people wrong, like James and er, Lily Luna... I felt like I am a shadow of him." He had never been this honest to anyone, other than Scorpius and that traitor, Delphini. He wished he told Aunt Hermione about this, but he didn't.

"Are you still angry at him?"

He frowned. "After time-traveling for several times and waking up in universes where he didn't survive? No. Not anymore. But do you think he shouldn't be hard on me?"

"I say, he should've asked how you felt about things. But I'm in no place to judge him because there's no proper education for parenthood. Everything's a trial and error."

"But you seem so good and gentle towards Rose and Hugo, and they look happier than my cousins."

He stared at him for a moment. "Is Hermione happy with your Uncle Ron?"

"I guess, but Hermione here is happier and more relaxed," he said truthfully. "And I've never seen her that in love if that's what you want to hear."

Mr. Diggory laughed.

"Hey, you two!"

They turned their heads. Mr. O'Brien and Mr. Fawley were walking towards them.

"Ready to give us your memories, Mr. Potter?" asked Mr. Fawley.

"As soon as I finish my lunch."

Mr. Diggory's two colleagues went to the counter to get their food. He leaned forward. "Since I might be staying for a week, will you tell me how you and Aunt Mione met?"

Mr. Diggory looked surprised and shrugged. "I guess that would be fine."