A/N: A short chapter. Apologies for not writing more. Just got promoted in work and work has been so busy I just get so emotionally exhausted. No good excuse really.

"Dad, you're not serious?!" Lily gasped. "James, Claire! Both of you, this isn't a prank right?"

"I wish it were Lils," James said shaking his head. "What do we even do about it? He can't just keep getting away with this without any consequences! Egypt! What on earth was he even doing in Egypt? And now this thing that happened in Paris? And my own son is now involved. Bloody hell…"

Mum looked very upset as well. It reminded Lily of the darker days, right after Al had left all of them. Mum, eyes red-rimmed, scarcely left her room and when she did, seemed to wither in the company of others. Claire was clinging to her brother, evidently unhappy with the development of events.

It was a small gathering — only her, Mum, Dad, her brother and his wife — during which Dad had disclosed everything he thought he knew about Al. They were all still reeling over the revelations.

"Why now? How long— Dad— how long have you known?"

"Since the end of our case in France. It took me a while to investigate and piece through everything," Harry explained.

That was December. It was now February and Nigel had been at Hogwarts for over a month.

"Well, so what are we going to do?" Claire's question broke the silence. "I can't just let Nigel gallivant off some random adventure with Albus every time he shows up out of nowhere."

"I'll talk to him, Claire. I think it's time he knew the full-story, or what we know if it," James reassured her and pulled her closer. "Nigel is a smart and sensible kid. He'll know what's right. Once he knows what's happened, he won't—"

"I don't think Albus would intentionally cause harm on them," Harry said, as if trying to convince himself.

"Really Dad? You're still defending him? You're not exactly helping my argument here!" James threw his arms in air in exasperation. His voice was laced in bitterness. "Look, Dad, I know Al's been your favorite child, you've made that pretty clear—" Harry seemed to wince at the statement— "but surely you can't be that blind to reality."

"I'm only saying that the few times Al has met up with Nigel, he hasn't harmed the boy. And if my investigations into what happened in Egypt were credible, he even prevented Nigel and Andy from being kidnapped and ransomed. All I'm saying—"

"— All you're saying is that everything is perfectly fine! Nothing to worry about! Your perfect son who could do no wrong and who totally isn't the most dangerous criminal in Europe at the moment. You're right, I should totally let Nigel wander around the world with him!"

"No one is suggesting that, James. Bloody hell, stop putting words in my mouth!"

"Fuck off, Dad. And Mum no, I'm not going to keep calm! All this time, after knowing everything he did, after reading all the headlines, after all he's done to our family Dad, you're still not getting it! He's still your favorite!"

"Enough! Please!" Lily had to raise her voice to stop this madness from spiraling out of control, even though deep down, she knew that James' resentment at their father's blatant favoritism of Al, which manifested itself all throughout their childhood when he would be too busy from work but spare time for their brother who would stay up late and wait for his return, wasn't completely unwarranted. Even though she knew Dad loved all of them. He really didn't mean it. It was just… him and Al were always closer, shared a stronger bond and they only grew closer after Al joined the Aurors. Both Mum and Claire were close to tears, however, and if this unhelpful argument wasn't resolved, nothing good would come of it. "Both of you!"

"Why—"

"James, please," Mum finally spoke. "Harry, now isn't the time… Both of you should apologize."

"I'm sorry James," Harry said, "If you thought my comments were any indication of favoritism."

"Sorry…" muttered James, clearly still unhappy.

"You know what," Claire wary of her interjection but intent on diffusing this conflict, "I think it best if we didn't confront Nigel about any of this directly. Keep our knowledge of his interactions in Egypt secret. And when we're telling him the full-story, we'll do it in the context of whenever Andy next brings up her uncle. He doesn't need to know that we know."

"Claire, dear, are you sure about this?" James looked weary.

"He needs to feel supported, above all. Like what you said, James, our boy clever and sensible but if he was communicating with your brother in secret, he's probably burdened by some sort of guilt or fear. We need to make him realize that we'll always be there for him."

"But what if—"

"Your father has a point—"

"No he doesn't. He just wants to defend Al—"

"I'm not happy with our son potentially endangering his life through his dalliances with your brother but he hasn't harmed Nigel yet, when he had every opportunity too. Either he genuinely cares for Nigel or our son is … too useful to come to any harm for him," she reasoned.

James grumbled but nodded.

Lily glanced at the scene in front of her and shook her head. The prospect of roasted duck for dinner later and asking Freddy to finally come meet her family now sounded too jarring— it would have to wait. She would have to spend dinner with just Freddy.

~X~

The next few weeks weighed heavily upon James Sirius Potter and it wasn't just the increasingly heavy workload. He was consumed by worry with regards to the recent revelations. Furthermore, the more he thought about his brother, the more resentful he felt himself become even though he knew deep inside that he was —to some degree— projecting and imagining long-held, long-repressed thoughts onto the current situation.

Perhaps he was indeed being petty that day with father, who was still clearly very shaken. But he couldn't help it. When they were young, he never thought of himself as the responsible sibling. No, he told himself, that had to be Al. Neither him nor Lily were underachievers by any means but Al was the one that truly understood Dad and made Dad proud— top of his Auror trainee class, engaged in conversations about current affairs with their old man during family dinners and always thriving Defense Against the Dark Arts, with their professor back in the day declaring him a natural. (Although given the benefit of hindsight, James wondered whether the 'Defense Against' part was overstated.) Their brother would always stay up late, both before and during his time at Hogwarts, to converse with their dad after late-night missions. It wasn't as if their father had neglected him or Lily. He really tried. He always made sure to take all three of them to Quidditch games and movies. Late night conversations aside, Harry really did make an effort to catch up with James over school and, later, life and work. Especially after his children were born, his parents had been nothing but doting and attentive. Yet still… Part of him resented being the responsible sibling in the end. Because that's what he was. When Albus murdered dozens that night, committed a litany of crimes thereafter and became an all-but-confirmed dark wizard (which his father was still intent on denying) and when Lily wallowed herself in self-pity and depression and then recklessly chose to join the Aurors, James had to comfort their mother, be a good husband and father, ensure their family did not fall apart, all while everything around them seemed to crumble. Sometimes it felt like amongst his siblings, he was the only one who really gave a damn about family.

"James?" His wife beside him stirred. Claire was always more level-headed, able to sooth his resentment and understand what was bothering him. "Is there something wrong?"

"I'm thinking… The past few weeks… It's been so stressful."

"I know, James."

"I worry all the time and my father, he…" James couldn't finish the sentence.

"He'll come around, James. It's hard for him, I know, even though it's hard for us too."

James kissed her and she responded. He needed that badly. He held her close and she gripped on him too. "I love you."

"I love you too." She buried her face in his chest, just like they used to do when they first started dating.

~X~

"Claire says I need to apologize properly," James said after his father opened the door. "We've made some brownies for you and Mum… well, she did most of it but I helped."

The house was just as he remembered from his childhood. He had continued to frequent the place even after moving out and, indeed, the exterior appearances have been kept up, but he knew that something was missing ever since all of his siblings have moved out, a certain emptiness. Nonetheless, mother and father had tried to make it as homely as possible. The kettle was boiling and Celestina Warbeck played in the background.

"Oh James!" Mother grabbed him into a hug as Dad came downstairs.

He took the box of brownies and responded, "I'm sorry too James. I should have realized how hard things have been on you as well. Come in, we can share the brownies over tea."

"Don't tell my wife…"

They both chuckled.

~X~

Much to his surprise, the rest of his Second-Year elapsed rather unassumingly and undramatically.

No one ever contacted him about his involvement with the Crime Lord in France, nor asked him whether he knew anything about resurrections or whatnot or interrogated him about any encounters he had with his uncle. School went on as usual, the seasons trudged on and Nigel continued to thrive in Quidditch. Sure, he had his conversations here and there with his close friends Yiannis, Karen and Conrad as well as Ana and Dora about what transpired, but that hadn't altered the grand scope of things. They've known for months and while some had reservations about his uncle, none of that affected their relationship.

And so time passed, until it was but a few weeks near the end of his school-year and all Conrad could talk about was what elective classes one should take for their OWLs.

"Really Karen! My mother said Ancient Runes is a must-take! It penetrates the foundations of so much magical theory— how our most preliminary spells are derived—the roots of—"

"My dad said he fell asleep during his first class," Nigel noted, though aware that his father was no Ravenclaw," Mom said he found fun in pulling her ponytail though."

"I'm continuing Care for Magical Creatures," Yiannis interjected. "Don't think I can fit Runes into my schedule though— I am intrigued though."

"Your great-Aunt managed to fit in every class into her schedule," Karen instructed — somehow his friends all knew much more about his family's historical adventures than he did. "Some sources speculated that she used a Time Turner."

"Well I'm not using one," Nigel said. "Too much for me. Conrad, though…"

"No, I'll pass on that prospect." Conrad shook his head frantically. "I was merely raising the prospect. In case, well, any of you guys want to take it. I'm opting out of Divination and Care for Magical Creatures, sadly."

"I'm taking Arithmacy and Ancient Runes as my electives," Karen remarked. "Hard choice to make, to be honest. Oh also, Nigel, I heard Dorothea is taking Runes and Care for Magical Creatures."

"Cool." He nodded, not wanting to make any extraneous comments. Karen and Conrad snickered. Perhaps Yiannis did too but Yiannis always seemed much more sympathetic and polite so Nigel never really minded.

"So… what electives are you taking?"

"Mmmmm… probably Runes and Care for Magical Creatures," Nigel admitted. "Not because of Dora though— no— I—"

Everyone else burst into laughter in their group while Nigel found it all slightly irritating. "Whatever guys, does this mean we'll all still be taking Runes together—"

"Nigel, Nigel, my fellow brother," Conrad said, arms wrapped around him, "That you feel the need to deny that small fact about 'Dora' is very telling." He seemed to accentuate the words 'Dora', rather sardonically.

He felt another smack on him and this time it was his Quidditch captain Serena, who, for some reason, appeared to eavesdrop on that part of their conversation. "Hey!" he protested.

"Is that why she attended the final between us and Gryffindor and seemed to cheer us on?" She teased.

"Oh come on!"

~X~

Time past and time present are perhaps both in time future and time future contained in time past if all time is eternally present—

And so it beckoned him towards it. The wiry sands of time, ensconced within a delicately designed hour-glass. The prospect of melding time, traversing through it, making a mockery of fate, fixing the past… There it was. Redemption, undoing his past wrongs but— what would he have done? Al pondered for a brief moment before uttering the spells to disable its protections. He didn't have much time until the rest of them caught up with him, though it was not as if that would be a crippling problem, for he knew he could dispatch those goons with ease.

It was a cruel twist of fate that brought him here again in Egypt. Right under his very nose of operations amongst the entanglement of businesses that he had involved himself with. He had missed it. The whole time—

He approached the gargantuan Time Turner, the most powerful and sophisticated of its kind. Mayhaps he would be able to go back to how everything once was, to guide himself again, to right his wrongs, to nip everything in the bud. For a moment, he hesitated as he placed his fingers on the handle. He would need to turn it seventeen times, or so he calculated, such that he could shift right back to the moment where he met here again. This time he would be well-equipped with guarding his mind, with how to manage her wretched family, with how to detach her from—

Nothing budged. He remained firmly rooted in reality, in the present. It was a cruel revelation, that he was stuck here. Fate was a cruel mistress and she had punished him for his transgressions. It was his destiny to dispatch Delphi, to break his soul and to consign himself into exile. He felt his hands tremble in anger and when the first of the Eye of Anubis's enforcers arrived, the tip of his wand flashed green.

One by one, they fell and he felt nothing. It just gets easier and easier.

If I can't have it, then no one can. The ground beneath them all trembled and as he ascended to the skies, he processed the fleeting fragments of terror felt by everyone around him, as they all sunk into the earth, into oblivion. The CEO of Giza Holdings had hinted that this was a fraud anyway. [Or perhaps it wasn't. Perhaps he was chained to present by the mistakes he had made in the past.] It didn't matter.

The night sky was filled with constellations, much like the chanced night when he bumped into his niece and nephew.

Frowning, Al felt himself instinctively reach towards his locket. It always had a calming effect.

No cutting corners this time.

He took a deep breath and folded through space, across deserts and oceans. The locket would conceal his presence. He needed to pay a trip home.

A/N: A lot of shit goes down. Next chapter includes some reunions and mayhaps the Auror crew will finally have another confrontation. Heads up- eventually, some time along the story, Al's soul will finally get fixed, but at a price.