IMPORTANT: I have deleted chapter 2, the 'Hiatus notice'. There are officially four chapters. Make sure you don't get confused.

A/N: We stay JKR cannon here and not Cursed Child cannon, which conflict with each other as far as time travel theory goes.

Chapter 4

Emily rose up from the memory with a smile on her face. Her daughter and her husband both looked at her hoping she had actually noticed something, because neither of them had caught onto anything.

"I did miss something. How obtuse of me."

Harry was impatient, "You're more than welcome to share with the rest of us. I didn't notice a thing."

"It was subtle. Delphini quoted you, saying 'She was never going to come back. She couldn't come back. Not again.'"

All of a sudden things seemed to click together in her husband's mind. "You're horcruxes. I must have meant them. So, that means you're... that means you're really gone."

Emily watched as her husband all but collapsed on the couch, looking defeated. "I killed you. Why?"

"I am still not convinced I am dead, so don't go off the deep end just yet, Harry."

"How can you be so certain?"

Emily looked at him as though he had become simple. "Because you love me."

He closed his eyes, then nodded and opened them again. "You're right, we can't just assume that. What would be a dead give away that you're alive?"

"Rather simple, I hope so, anyway. This ring," She held up her hand showing the engagement ring he had given her. "This is your horcrux. My final horcrux will be your wedding ring."

"Oh, I kind of expected you to choose your own wedding ring." The two of them turned their eyes to Delphini and Emily asked her, "Does your father still have his wedding ring?"

The young woman was quiet, before whispering, "No. He doesn't."

"Fuck." Harry once again slumped down on the couch.

"Don't sound so defeated, Harry. Its still not enough to convince me."

"Oh come on, Emily. How much more proof do you need? Let be realistic, we've got a smoking gun with my prints all over it."

"I doubt you killed me with a muggle firearm, Harry."

Harry groaned, rubbing his now closed eyes. "Its an expression, Emily."

"Whatever, we still have one final avenue to explore."

Harry gave a short laugh, "Oh? And what, pray tell, is the last thing we need to look at."

"Delphini's memory of the night I died."

"What's the point of watching me break down after killing my wife and trying to find peace in hugging my daughter?"

"I have a hunch."

Harry took a deep breath and opened his eyes. "Well if there is one thing that you and Dumbledore had in common, it was the fact that your hunches normally turned out to be correct."

"Really? I recall you telling me often how my ideas were crazy and long past paranoia."

"Well your ideas are. But your hunches are another matter. Its when your hunches make a few laps around your brain and become ideas, that I start doubting them."

Emily laughed at him. "I suppose I should find that insulting, but it's honestly just amusing."

Emily turned to their daughter, "Have you ever pulled a memory from your head before?"

Delphini laughed. "No, mother, I've never had a reason to. What do I need to do?"

"Just focus on that time, on that memory, and I'll do the rest."

Emily placed her wand to Delphini's temple and soon enough, a silver glow emanated from her temple. Emily quickly, but gently, extracted the memory and placed it inside the make shift penseive.

"Let's go." The three of them disappeared into the bowl.

Their feet landed lightly on the stone floor of the Malfoy Manor. They stood inside the dining hall. Delphini was present with her Uncle Draco, but Lucius and Narcissa were also present. The memory Delphini looked pale and ill tempered. It was clearly very late at night. They didn't have long to view the scene as it was only moments later that an older Harry Potter entered the room.

It was quite clear that he had been through a great deal. His clothes were barely more than rags, and they were smeared and caked in mud and clay. His hair was in a similar state that his clothes were and the matted locks made him look more subdued than his normal wild strands did. He made his way to his daughter and they watch as the young girl rose up unsteadily and tore across the room to fling herself into her father's arms. Several times she almost fell. The three Malfoys exchanged glances, but none of them said a word about the man's disheveled appearance. The only sounds came from the two people embracing in the middle of the room. There were only a few seconds of silence before the memory Harry began sobbing, great heaving sobs. He kept whispering that he was sorry, so sorry to his daughter and it was clear she didn't understand what was going on.

"Daddy, where's mother?"

But the memory Harry only sobbed harder and continued apologizing over and over and soon the memory faded out.

As the three of them return to the Potter residence, Harry once again sat down with a slump. "Not really a lot to glean from that."

Emily look at him and sighed, cleary over his defeated attitude. "I swear Harry, if you don't drop the personal pity party I'm going to shove my wand ten inches up your arse, and I can assure you that this time, the intrusion won't be a playful experiment."

"Mum, that's disgusting! I don't need to hear things like that!"

This time Emily actually did look rather contrite. Looking to her daughter, she said, "Sorry dear, but it seems your father didn't notice what I did." Turning her face to her husband. "You clearly weren't being perceptive Harry, as your wedding ring was sitting on your finger plain as day."

Harry didn't react in the way she had expected. "So? I didn't have it on in the future though. I probably destroyed it later."

Emily temper rose sharply. "Stop being a martyr, Harry."

"I'm not be-"

"QUIET!" Emily practically screeched at him. He shut up, and his face paled. Emily had never screamed at him that way, not since she realized her connection to him. "You listen to me, Harry Potter, and you listen well. You are being a martyr, you're taking all the blame of this entire fiasco and trying to shoulder it alone. Drop the bleeding heart and the hero complex and focus with me, damn it. Now why would you obviously not keep the ring intact before you killed me?"

Harry could tell that Emily had put her foot down with him and she had most definitely done it explosively. He sat up straight and began to think about what she had told him. It didn't take him long to figure it out.

"You're right, I'd destroy the ring first, so that when I killed you, you would immediately die. If I gave you time in between you could attach your soul to a host like Professor Quirrell or a snake like Nagini."

"Thank you for being sensible today." Emily walked towards her husband and sat on his lap, touching her forehead to his. "I know its been a trying night, goodness knows we only got married this morning and its nearing midnight now. Let's do some brainstorming on this latest memory and then call it a night. I need your mind operating at its best right now." Lowering her voice so her daughter did not overhear, "Silence our room when I take Delphini to the guest room." Her daughter could try as hard as she might to channel the late Albus Dumbledore's ability to ruin her sex life, but Emily was tired of the constant teases she was getting tonight. She was going to have a proper wedding night.

Harry gave a soft chuckle and nodded lightly. Emily pulled herself away from him and sat herself beside him. Delphini was already seated on an armchair. "So we can now officially conclude that Harry did not intentionally kill me."

Her statement immediately caused Harry to interrupt her. "Hold on a tic, what do you mean intentionally? So your saying I could have, what, accidentally killed you?"

"Of course. That's always been the most likely scenario. I knew you wouldn't murder me love, but accidents do happen, after all."

He stared at her incredulously, "And how exactly am I going to accidentally kill you? Because God knows people have been trying to do it on purpose for decades."

Emily laughed at him. "True, and to be honest, I don't think you did. I think what happens in the future is obvious. You and I go out to do something rather dangerous. You wind up in a perilous situation and I sacrifice myself to save you. There are some magicks, ancient magicks, that are so vile they destroy the soul. Dementors aren't the only things that can directly influence a soul, you know. After all, why would I sacrifice myself to save you if I could just use your horcrux to bring you back? Most likely that is the situation we find ourselves in, in the future. It's why you blame yourself. It's why you said I can't come back. Because there is nothing left that can return."

Harry sat silently for a long time, contemplating his wife's words. "What about the final horcrux? If your soul was destroyed, why would I not use the last horcrux and try and create a new you? Like you did with Voldemort?"

"Odds are you did," Emily gave him a sad smile. "And odds are that you failed. That's why you no longer have the ring in Delphini's memory."

Harry gave a hollow laugh. There was no note of happiness in it. "So I drag you down once more. Its just like Egypt all over again, except this time I lose you."

"No, Egypt was my fault. I took you knowing the danger. I sealed you in the coffin. I alone am responsible for the loss of life there. Not you. Never blame yourself for that."

"How can I not? The things you did, you did for me."

"I did nothing for you that night, Harry. I did all that I did for me. For my selfish desire to keep you with me."

Harry stayed silent for a time, before looking at Emily and asking, "Shouldn't you go back in time and tell Delphini now? Is there really any point in waiting any longer?"

Emily mused for a moment before shaking her head. "No, because I'm still missing something."

"What do you mean?"

Emily didn't answer his question, instead turning to her daughter she asked, "Isn't that right, Delphini?"

Her daughter looked to the floor, clearly not wanting to speak. Emily pushed a little harder. "Relax Delphini, all I am asking is if I told you something else. Something that I told you not to reveal until we had already figured it out. I'm not telling you to tell me what it is."

Delphini still refused to speak, but she nodded her head twice.

Emily smiled, "No, there is still a final missing puzzle piece. Something we have yet to figure out."

There was silence for a long time before Delphini finally spoke.

"So, what now? Now that we know the danger, do you two just not do dangerous things when I hit a certain age? Everything in the future is now fixed. With the foreknowledge you have, everything should be fine, right?"

"No." Harry gave a long sigh. "That's not how it works Delphini. This is something I've been mulling over in my head the entire time, but I've figured it out now. The timeline can't change. We can't do anything for your mother."

Upon hearing her father's word, Delphini gave a strangled cry, and buried her head in her hand as she shook violently with sobs. Emily once again felt the powerful pull to comfort her daughter, but this time, Harry had beaten her to it. He had already been in motion, knowing the effect his words would have on the girl. He got up and then sat next to Delphini and gently pulled her to him. She clung to him desperately sobbing all the more.

"I've used a time turner before. The timeline can't be changed because the past has already happened. I was being attacked by dementor's but my future self was already there to save me. Buckbeak never died, because we had already saved him. Same with Sirius. The timeline has already passed us by. Traveling to the past can't change something, because you're visit here was already set in stone. As is what's going to happen. You can't alter your past from our present either."

Emily listened quietly until Harry was finished. "So are you saying there is nothing we can do?"

Harry smiled at his wife. "Nothing about the past, hers or ours. But if we are capable of anything, it will be in changing her future."

Emily stared at him. "I don't see how that will fix anything Harry, not with my being gone."

"I doubt you're gone, though." Harry's smile stayed on his face.

"Why do you believe that?"

"I would never let you sacrifice yourself for me. I love you too much. I'd have died there with you before allowing you to die alone. I wouldn't be able to let you face your greatest fear by yourself."

Emily smiled back at him. "While your reasoning is rather beautiful, I'd like to point out the single flaw in your argument." She lifted a single finger and pointed it at the girl clinging to him. "You would leave our daughter alone? Without a family as you grew up?"

"No, but she clearly wouldn't be alone. Not like I was. Do you remember how she referred to Draco? Her uncle? They clearly treat her well, well enough that I would agree to go on some crazy, dangerous adventure with you in the first place. Lets be honest, we wouldn't have made that decision if we didn't already have a contingency plan in place for her."

"Would we not? If it were important enough?"

"I suppose we would, but at the same time, what else could possibly be more important than her life or yours to me? If I was certain that she would still have a good and happy life without us, then I would prioritize you first."

Emily sighed, "While all of this conjecture is rather sweet and even heartbreaking, it doesn't get us to the crux of how you think we can help our daughter."

"Sure it does. And its the last piece you need to know before you go off on your own bit of time travel."

Emily stared at him. "You complain when I leave you in suspense, and yet here you are, doing the same thing to me."

Harry laughed at her, as Delphini finally tried to compose herself. "I'm willing to bet the last thing you told Delphini about was something to do with a final clue."

Emily, for the second time that night, looked at him as though he had become simple. She wasn't able to rebuke him before her daughter cut in. "Yes, that's what mum said. She said that you found the final clue."

Emily let out a groan of frustration. "Delphini, you weren't supposed to say that until we actually found it. Now what if we- Of course. We found it already, so if Harry is correct we'll find it again. The timeline can't change."

Harry nodded. "And if that is true then I am willing to wager my entire vault in Gringotts that the me from the future sent a message with Delphini to the past. Because I will remember her coming here in the first place, with the message I had already sent."

Emily balked at his words. "Is this not some weird self fulfilling prophecy?"

Harry laughed, "I suppose it is. If it were a prophecy. But its time travel, which is infinitely simpler." He turned to face his daughter and asked her, "Did I ever give you a keepsake? Something I told you to never leave lying around. Something I told you to carry with you always?"

Delphini nodded, extracting herself from her father. She reached into the top of her blouse and pulled out a thin silver chain. Attached to the chain was a large locket adorned with an ornate Slytherin S. "I've never been able to open it, I even tried Parseltongue."

Harry smiled at her. "I probably set it with a password. I've only ever known one password in Parseltongue, and seeing as it has the Slytherin S on it, I'm pretty certain as to what it is."

"Speak to me, Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts four."

With a light snap, the locket opened. And inside of it rested a simple wedding band, along with a silver memory.