Renciske : thanks a lot…I am glad you liked the story..and I hope you like this chapter too..=]
lilyxoxoscorpius : hey thanks a lot…=] I am glad you understand…and I hope you like this chapter as well…=]
"Good morning sleepy head! You are up early! I thought you were going to take another 2 hours so." Lily cried out to a very sleepy and groggy Scorpius entering the kitchen.
"Come on Lily, you very well know how hard I work to earn a living and give the best of everything to our family..dont you?! And this is how you appreciate what I do for our family!" Scorpius said making a hurt and sad face at Lily while sitting at the table for breakfast.
"Yeah I know Drama queen! I know very well, how hard is it for a Deputy Head Auror to go into office in morning and shout at his poor colleagues. It must be so exhilarating isn't it…to order people around." While setting his breakfast of bacon and eggs in front of him.
"Ahh…that's the perk of being the boss when your brother-in-law aka Head Auror is on vacation. Hey, you seriously don't think I just order people around do you? Come on, how could you ever think something like that about your darling husband?"
"Yeah right..actually I don't think, I am sure you do that every single day." Lily replied, smiling at him.
"Oh well….its your choice." He shrugged moving on to read the Daily Prophet.
"It's so quiet without the kids around isn't it?" Lily said after sometime.
Scorpius looked up from the paper "Yeah it is. But look at the bright side…we are all alone until Christmas and oh just think what all we could do in an empty house." Wiggling his eyebrows at her.
Lily just giggled getting up to set the dishes in the sink when Scorpius pulled her onto his lap.
"Scorpius!"
To which he answered by capturing her in a passionate kiss which was heartily returned without a complain. Before their kiss could get heated anymore than it had, they were forced to break apart when they heard an impatient tapping noise on the window. There sitting outside the window was a large grey owl.
"Looks like he's been trying to catch our attention for quite some time." Scorpius said when the owl continued its impatient tapping. "Yeah…yeah little fella…I am coming." Scorpius said with a frustrated sigh.
Lily just smiled and continued setting the dishes in the sink.
"Who's it from?" Lily asked looking at Scorpius.
"It's from Hogwarts. Looks like they have already got into trouble."
"But it's just the first day," Lily said frowning. "I thought Terry would take care that that doesn't happen. He's Head Boy now after all."
"Relax Lils. What's the big deal? It isn't like we never got into trouble our first day of school, especially you." Scorpius said smiling at her.
The only answer he got was a glare.
Clearing his throat Scorpius proceeded to read the letter.
"What does it say?" Lily asked not able to wait anymore.
"Just that we have to go to Hogwarts to meet Neville now. He says it's urgent." Sorpius said looking up from the letter, a frown apparent on his forehead.
"Do you think they are in serious trouble?"
"I don't know. Let's just go and find out, shall we? I'll inform Justin that I'll be late. He knows what he has to do." Justin Carmichael was next in command to Scorpius at the Auror Headquarters. He took care of everything whenever Scorpius and Teddy (Head Auror) weren't around.
"Yeah. I'll go get my coat."
At around 10 in the morning they landed in the Headmaster's office. Neville sat at his desk looking pensive. Lily and Scorpius proceeded in to sit opposite the Headmaster.
"What did they do now Neville?" Lily asked her dad's friend.
Neville just looked at her opening his mouth but unable to say anything.
"Ummm…before we get to that, would you like something to drink? Tea perhaps?" Professor Mashburn, who they just now realized was in the room as well, asked them.
"Is everything alright, Neville? You look really pale." Scorpius asked, ignoring the Mashburn who had taken Neville's place as the Herbology Professor when he became the headmaster.
Neville just sighed looking from Lily and Scorpius, who were now looking at him worriedly.
"I….uhh…"
"Neville what happened? You are scaring us now!" Lily asked not able to take the silence any longer.
"I am sorry, Lily. It's just….ok here goes….Terry, Regis and Abby…they are missing. They never turned up at last night's feast and their dorm mates told us that they never came to the dorm and according to Terry's friends he and Regis had hung back at the train to look for Abby. We don't know much, but according to the station master, he saw them leave the train and head for the school on foot since the carriages had already left." Neville finished, now looking up to meet the astonished eyes of his former students.
"What?" Lily said, her voice was so soft that it could have been missed if it had not been for the silence now engulfing the large office. Scorpius just sat there processing the news. He looked up at his wife, who looked like she was about to burst. He wrapped a protective arm around Lily's shoulders, who seemed to have gone into shock.
"Do you know what happened to them?" Scorpius asked Neville after sometime.
"We found this." Neville said, opening the folds of a maroon handkerchief. There in between the crimson red sat the broken, glistening remains of the Time Turner.
"We think they are lost somewhere in time."
A soft gasp escaping her lips, Lily finally spoke, "What do we do now?", the tremble in her voice alerting Scorpius to his wife's distress.
Scorpius held her tighter to him and replied, "We bring them back."