Chapter Four

As soon as Scorpius told Al to shut up, Rose knew there was a problem. Not that a Malfoy told a Potter to shut up; that was no big deal. He did that all the time, and although Scorpius took it very seriously, no one else did. No, it was the fact that James suddenly burst through the back door and had begun to run across the dark lawn.

James Potter was not a bad person. He did, however, have a knack for getting in trouble, whether on purpose or by accident one could not always tell. And when coupled with his cousin Fred, things got… unwieldy.

For example, there was a time when Fred had managed to get his hands on some of his Dad George's fireworks, the kind that tended to shoot into the sky and explode in an array of colors. It was the kind of firework that George had kept hidden from the troublesome duo for a reason; the explosives could easily blow the user's hand off if set off the wrong way. It was just a prototype, after all. James and Fred couldn't resist nicking a few from the shop's stash. They lit them off the Astronomy Tower during their fifth year. When Aunt Ginny had found out, shit hit the metaphorical fan. It was apparently quite funny; according to Al anyways. That didn't stop James, however; such interventions never had. He and his wild friends continued to go crazy with their mildly dangerous pranks and gags. So when Rose saw her older cousin walking across the yard, a glittering chain dipping between his fingers, she was instantly suspicious.

The chain glimmered; oh it shimmered in the moonlight. It was a truly magnificent sight to see the heavy gold braid attached to something unknown in her cousin's hand. There was the glint of a gold circle as James' hand opened a bit wider. She stared as ruffled-haired, determined-eyed James strode across the damp, dewy grass. Rose was still standing partially behind Scorpius, so she couldn't get a good look at him. But any appearance of James with a mysterious object was t-r-o-u-b-l-e, 'trouble'.

Then as James was opening his mouth to call out to them, to tell them the latest bit of Weasley/Potter gossip, he tripped over a protruding tree root. Cursing he fell, and the golden chain flew out of his hand. It twisted and turned in the air, and Rose could see in the light from the house and the moon, the small hour glass filled with sand and surrounded by ruins. Realization dawned on Rose; this was a time turner, one that had not been destroyed in the Ministry fight of '96. And then in tumbled to the ground, shattering on impact; bits of dust and sand flew across Scorpius, Al and Rose, leaving James behind.

In a flash of light and with a gut-wrenching yank, they were gone.

Rose sat in Professor Dumbledore's office, waiting for her friend's dad to speak. She was certain he would yell and Scorpius; he was a Malfoy and a Gryffindor, two words that should never have been used in the same sentence unless the word 'hates' was between them.

Surprisingly, Draco stayed silent. He sat in the chair, looking uncomfortable. His nose was wrinkled, his eyes flitting about. No one said anything, waiting.

"Well," Dumbledore stood, relieving the tension, "Let us get on with it, shall we?"

"Yes," Breathed Al, "Let's,"

Dumbledore paced, his brow wrinkled as though he was thinking rather hard. It looked painful to Rose, whose mind could never stay in one place at once unless it was about schoolwork. "I am not going to inform the Ministry of this mishap. I don't think that they would take it well. In your time it probably different, but in this time the Ministry is not exactly the most… reliable place to go with such matters."

Draco snorted, startling Rose. Scorpius squeezed her hand gently, and she looked into his eyes. They were grey laced with green; gentle yet, somehow, cold. "Good idea," His voice sounded strained although his face was a mask of indifference, "Don't want the Death Eaters to get to us, right Dad?"

Draco's eyes bulged, his skin turning paler than it already was (if that was even possible). Rose felt the irrational urge to giggle, but held it in by biting her lip. Scorpius' grip on her hand became deathly and Al's mouth had fallen open. Harry was the only one who was unaffected, or so it appeared. If someone didn't know her uncle he would've looked normal but upon further inspection Rose noticed the way his green eyes seemed a bit wide and how his hands were clenched into fists at his sides.

"Listen," The Death Eater in the group stood, glowering at his future son, "I will have you know that I'm not believing your shite. You can't just show up in the middle of the common room and claim to be my son! You could be anyone!"

Scorpius stood, releasing Rose's throbbing hand, "I am not a small child, father, and you have been nothing but an… an asshole since we arrived! You were never this way before."

"You mean later," Al supplied, his deep eyes going to his blonde friend's form, which was trembling with rage.

"Well," Draco smoothed his crinkled white shirt, a look of disgust on his face, "I refuse to listen to this any longer. I have classes in the morning," He paused, staring at Scorpius with malice, "I'm leaving. I won't say anything about tonight if you three leave me the hell alone." Draco announced, turning his back to the group, "Headmaster." And with that, he marched out of the office.

Yanking on his arm, Rose helped Scorpius sit down. The look in his eyes was murderous when trained at his father, but when they flicked to Rose it dissipated. She smiled and took his hand again, running her thumb over the smooth skin on the back of his hand. He rewarded her with a small, sad smile.

Sighing, Dumbledore took his seat, "Ah, Mister Malfoy. He is a troubled young man," If only he knew just how troubled, Rose thought. There was a beat of silence, before Dumbledore said, "I promise the three of you that I will get you back to your time some way or another. But first I must say, we will have to come up with a cover for you,"

Rose felt herself grimace; this wasn't going to be as easy as she had thought.

"Well," Uncle Harry smiled, "Rose is a Weasley…"

"Hey!" Al motioned to himself, "Not fair, Dad, I mean I'm-"

Rose slapped her hand across her idiot cousin's mouth, "Stop spoiling everything, Albus. Go on, Harry," It was odd to call him 'Harry' but it seemed appropriate due to her uncle currently being the same age as her.

"So, there are tons of Weasleys! Couldn't they just be, like, I dunno, cousins of cousins or something?"

It wasn't a bad suggestion, which Dumbledore had not failed to pick up on, "Yes, that seems about right, hmm? Weasleys it is," A smile dawned on the elder's face, "I will make an announcement at breakfast. Harry, show them to the Gryffindor common room," Flicking his wand, Rose watched as the Headmaster turned Al's hair a deep red and Scorpius' a light orange. When she caught the former blonde's eye, Rose was shocked to find them a shockingly bright blue. Freckles adorned his nose. She could still see the Malfoy paleness, the sharpness of his cheekbones, but he no longer appeared to be a Draco Malfoy carbon copy, "Come up with your cover story, tell whomever you wish about it, but don't speak of tonight," Nodding to Harry, Dumbledore stated, "You may tell Mister Weasley and Miss Granger, but only that they are from the future—no details, if at all possible," Looking at the other three, he said, "I have placed glamors on you. Take them off whenever you are alone or with each other, if you wish. I bid you goodnight, or good morning, if you will,"

And with that information in mind, they stood and exited the Headmaster's office.