"OW!"

They landed in a pile of intertwined limbs. Teddy sniffed the faint, metallic scent of blood on one of them. He looked down and found Al's nose was bleeding.

Victoire retched. Teddy, head still spinning from the alcohol, followed; there went their breakfast, he thought miserably, wiping his hand away.

Grateful he had his wand, Teddy stopped the bleeding on Al's nose, vanished the mess he and Victoire made, and looked up, realizing it was dark.

"What the—"

"Did we do it?" Scorpius said excitedly, looking between Al and Teddy. "It's nighttime!"

"We went forward in time!" Al proclaimed. "See, Teddy! It's night!"

Teddy shushed the boys, hoping they were right, but the garden they were in didn't look right. Gran's vegetable patch was twice as big as it should be. Her flower patch was too small. The bench in the corner of the garden was pink, not yellow.

"Something's not right," Teddy murmured. "It's not right."

The dim light from the streetlamp barely illuminated Victoire's face. She was a delicate shade of green.

"But Teddy, we did it!" Al and Scorpius were about to give each other a high-five when Teddy took their arms.

"Stay quiet. I don't think we've gone forward in time, and if we have," Teddy gulped, "it's very far in time. We need to get out of here."

"What?" Victoire squeaked, terrified. "Back? Forward?"

By the distant light on the horizon, in the east, sunrise was coming. It was cool out, but not freezing, and Teddy knew he had to figure out the date immediately.

He led the boys and Victoire out of the garden and onto the street. The cars looked older than he remembered and he began shaking, hoping the boys hadn't sent them back in time. Forward, he could've managed, but the past—the past, depending on the year, could mean their deaths.

"Teddy," Albus whispered. "What's wrong?"

"I need you both to pretend you're my brothers. Don't say a word—and we're all purebloods, got it?"

"I am a pureblood," Scorpius said, confused. "We're cousins."

"What about me?" Victoire asked. "I've got hair like Scorpius—"

"Girlfriend," Teddy replied easily, ignoring the flip in his stomach. "For right now, I've got two brothers and we're all purebloods," Teddy continued sharply, glaring at the boys. "I've got no idea when it is. Just do me a favor and follow my lead."

Teddy had the boys and Victoire stand behind him. He took a deep breath and raised his wand arm—

BANG.

A shiny and purple double-decker bus stopped in front of them.

"The Knight Bus?" one of the boys asked quietly, as Victoire confirmed it.

"Shh, everyone." Teddy waited for the conductor to come down. A young man, no older than Teddy, announced the Knight Bus. Teddy had the others follow him and sit down near the front. He told the conductor to take them to the Leaky Cauldron and looked everywhere for a newspaper.

"What'choo lookin' for?" said the conductor. "Lost summat?"

"A newspaper," Teddy replied curtly. "Any newspaper. I need to know—"

"—last night's Prophet ," offered the conductor, waving a newspaper around, "but it'll cost ya a Knut."

Teddy reached into the mokeskin pouch around his neck, a gift from Harry, and pulled out the coin.

A moment later, his heart almost fell to the bottom of his body. The date was 29 June 1991. They'd gone back twenty-six years.

"You look like you're gonna be sick—"

"—I'm fine," Teddy gasped, ushering Al and Scorpius to his side. He shoved the newspaper in Victoire's face. She gasped loudly and shook her head.

"What are we going to do?" she cried.

"Your hair!" the conductor interrupted.

Teddy glanced up and groaned, seeing that his hair had gone white.

"I'm a Metamorphmagus, and leave me alone," Teddy growled at him. The conductor walked off, muttering about impolite riders, while Al and Scorpius looked around the bus with curiosity. Victoire was pale, white as a ghost, and Teddy didn't know what to do; suddenly their one-night stand wasn't their biggest problem anymore.

BANG.

The bus came to a stop and the conductor announced they'd reached Hogsmeade.

Teddy grabbed the boys and told the conductor they no longer needed to go to the Leaky Cauldron. He gave the man the Galleon fare and stepped out into the village.

"What are we doing in Hogsmeade, Teddy?" asked Al. "Did you tell your gran you'd take us here?"

"Look, Zonko's!" shouted Scorpius, and before he and Al could run off, Teddy grabbed their shirts.

"Okay, you two need to listen to me carefully," Teddy said quietly. "We didn't go forward in time. We went back. It's 1991 and both of your fathers are your age." He glanced at Victoire, furrowing his brow, and added, "Your dad's 21. Not much better, but—"

"—Egypt, he's in Egypt," Victoire said, exhaling loudly. "Maman's in France. Dad's in Egypt, Maman's in France." She repeated those words to herself while Al's eyes grew wide and Scorpius's jaw dropped.

"N-no, that c-c-can't—" Scorpius stammered.

"Look for yourself." Teddy showed the Prophet to them, pointing to the date. "It could be worse—a lot worse. We're not in the middle of a war. We need help and we need it now."

Teddy rubbed his face and tried not to lose his temper. The seriousness of the situation was weighing on him. At the rate they were going, he, Al, Victoire and Scorpius might erase themselves out of existence. The war could be lost. They needed to go home, no matter what it took. Victoire appeared to be in shock and the boys were in disbelief. Teddy would have to lead the charge.

A stray thought crossed his mind—his parents were alive. He shook it off; he'd lived nineteen long years without them and he didn't need to meet them to go home.

"Hogwarts is right up there," Teddy said, pointing up the hill. "We're going to the gates and I'm going to beg Dumbledore—"

"—Albus Dumbledore?" Al shouted. "Like me!"

"Yes, like you, and if you decide to keep saying things like that, you might never be born," Teddy said harshly. "Both of you need to stay quiet. The fun stops now—this is a nightmare, as far as I'm concerned."

Scorpius and Al had the decency to look chastised and Teddy led them up the familiar path from Hogsmeade to Hogwarts. He wasn't thrilled that Victoire was with them, but she had her wand as well, assuring an extra weapon if needed. They passed by the Shrieking Shack and Teddy winced, reminded that in '91, his father was likely alone and impoverished, Sirius Black was in Azkaban, and Peter Pettigrew was at large. Tempted as he was to seek out his father, or even his mother—he gasped loudly; his mother was at the castle he was walking toward!

He almost stopped to turn around, but he knew he couldn't. He would have to avoid seeing anyone he knew, including his mother. Wizards who meddled with time could do irreparable damage, and after all his godfather had been through to win the war, he wouldn't risk it.

They got to the castle gates just as the sun dawned.

Teddy gripped his wand tightly and tapped on the Hogwarts crest. He'd never visited the castle as an outsider and he hoped something would come of it.

A clear, stern voice spoke to him through the gargoyle in the crest.

"Your name and purpose, if you please."

"Professor McGonagall, this is . . . Teddy. It's an emergency."

"Your surname?"

Teddy hesitated. He couldn't very well be Teddy Lupin!

"Tonks. This is Ted Tonks. It's a family emergency and I need to see the Headmaster at once."

Al and Scorpius gave him confused looks.

"I will be there in a moment."

Teddy scrunched his face and morphed his features to the match the clearest picture of his grandfather, which sat on the mantle in the sitting room. It was around the time his mother started Auror training, so it had to be fairly accurate for the time period.

"Don't say a word to anyone," Teddy warned Al and Scorpius, whose confusion had only grown.

"Teddy, I don't look like your gran," Victoire mumbled.

"You'll be my sister, then," he whispered. "My granddad had a sister. Just play along."

A lonely figure emerged from the castle doors. Teddy recognized McGonagall's large hat and stood tall, hoping his grandfather was around the same height.

McGonagall eyed him warily, but her gaze softened when her eyes landed on the boys on either side of him.

"Mr. Tonks ."

"Let me explain," Teddy said quickly, finding McGonagall's severe, disbelieving expression. He let his morphing relax and—

"You are a Metamorphmagus?"

"I am, but I'm not—I'm not Ted Tonks. I'm related to the family and I've got a huge problem. I need to see Dumbledore. Please, I need help."

"Who are these young men?" McGonagall pointed to Al and Scorpius. "And the young lady?

"They're my brothers," Teddy lied. "They're 11. That's . . . my wife?"

"A bit young to be married, no?"

"Newlyweds," Victoire said, beaming. She sidled up to Teddy's side and took his arm. "We were on our honeymoon."

Teddy plastered a smile to his face and nodded along.

McGonagall raised a disbelieving brow. "And are they all like you?"

"—wizards and a witch, yes, but the boys won't be in the Book of Acceptance. My wife went to—"

"—Beauxbatons Academy."

"But I got my—" Al began, and Teddy shushed him.

"Please, Professor. We need help. It's urgent."

McGonagall kept her hawklike gaze on them and transformed into a cat. She darted away to a different part of the castle, while the boys stared after her.

"Wicked," said Al. "I want to be an Animagus."

"Me too," Scorpius agreed. "What do you think you'd be?"

Teddy let the boys discuss the best Animagus forms while he paced back and forth in front of the gates. Clearly McGonagall saw through him, and Dumbledore would too, but one of them had to believe he was telling the truth. He'd agree to Veritaserum if it got them home.

Victoire held herself, muttering the affirmations from before: Dad's in Egypt, Maman's in France. Grandmere and Grandpere are in France. Nan and Gramps are at the Burrow. There are two Weasley twins. It's 1991. It's not 2017. It's 1991. It's not 2017.

Teddy didn't want to listen to the repeated mutterings, but as it seemed to help Victoire, he let it go. He didn't care about the details or where anyone was; he just needed to go home before they jeopardized their lives any further.

"They're coming back!" Scorpius said loudly, holding his face up to the gate.

A cat was in the distance, with an older wizard next to her, gliding along the lawn. Teddy snapped at Al and Scorpius to shut up and stay silent while he spoke to the revered Headmaster. Victoire swallowed hard and got close to Teddy again. Maybe, when they were home, they could find a way to be close like this.

A few calming, deep breaths passed through Teddy's lips as he let go of thinking about Victoire and got back to the present. The adrenalin had worn off and the boys at his side were visibly nervous. He was scarcely less worried; if Dumbledore failed them, Teddy didn't know what would become of them.

"Good morning, gentlemen, miss," Dumbledore greeted calmly. "Professor McGonagall mentioned a young man, his wife, and his . . . brothers needed assistance?"

Everything spilled out of Teddy's mouth before his mind could catch up.

"We're time travelers, sir, and we're from 2017. Scorpius, do you have the—no, he doesn't, it must've been broken—and Al had this plan to go forward but it failed and now we're here, we could lose the war against Voldemort, and my parents— their parents—Merlin, Harry, what are we going to do if he dies?"

Dumbledore put a hand up to stop Teddy.

"Minerva, please procure Calming Draughts from Poppy. I'll be with them in my office."

McGonagall gave Dumbledore a look that could only be described as he's-lost-his-mind, but returned to her Animagus form and slinked away. Dumbledore waved his wand over the four travelers, and seemingly content with the results, opened the castle gates.

"We will take a side route to my office, away from the students," said Dumbledore. "Follow me."

Teddy knew the route they were taking, having used it before on his Head Boy rounds, but said nothing. Scorpius and Al, as they'd never set foot inside Hogwarts, were entranced by the castle. Victoire was calm enough, being in a familiar place, and didn't leave Teddy's side.

They got to the gargoyle statue, which stepped aside to permit them entry. Teddy had never been to the office under this Headmaster. It was filled with all sorts of odd objects, but it was the phoenix that made it stand out.

"Wow," Al said, spotting the magnificent bird. "A real phoenix. Scorp, look!"

Scorpius came up to the bird and marveled at it.

"Can we pet him, sir?"

Dumbledore nodded and the boys carefully pet the phoenix's feathers. The bird seemed to enjoy the attention, and Teddy was glad to have a distraction for them.

"Are any of you hungry? Thirsty?"

"I could eat," Al said, grinning. "Teddy's gran had biscuits."

Dumbledore went to the fireplace, spoke into it, and settled back into his chair. "A few elves should be here to bring you breakfast."

"Ooh, is that a Pensieve?" Scorpius pointed to a basin on the other side of the office. "My dad has one of these!"

"Lucky," Al said enviously. "My dad's got one at the office."

Teddy groaned into his hands. By admitting they had different fathers, and with the comment about 'Teddy's gran,' it was obvious they were unrelated.

Elves appeared with plates of sandwiches and jugs of pumpkin juice. Al and Scorpius dug in immediately, and a moment later, McGonagall showed up with bottles of Calming Draught. Teddy didn't want to take any, but he unstoppered one out of politeness and took a few sips. Victoire gladly took them and seized a sandwich.

The taste was off, and it was after a second that Teddy realized why.

"You could've asked me in advance," Teddy said irritably. "I was willing to have Veritaserum without the pretense of Calming Draught."

At Veritaserum, Al and Scorpius looked down into their goblets with horror. Victoire gasped and held her throat.

"It was intended only for Mr and Mrs . . . .?" Dumbledore's voice trailed off and Teddy rubbed his temples. If honesty was what they needed to get out of this mess, he would give it to them.

"Lupin, as in Remus Lupin." Teddy watched McGonagall's face pale. Dumbledore's eyes twinkled—suddenly, the twinkle of Harry's stories made sense—and Teddy huffed indignantly. "And we're not married—" he pointed to Victoire and groaned.

"Victoire Weasley," she said, bowing slightly. "William is my father. My mother is French."

"I'm not supposed to be here, so please keep that in mind," Teddy interjected, before Victoire could divulge anything else. "He has no idea I exist, or will exist, for almost twenty years."

"And the youngsters?"

"The kid with the black hair is Albus Potter, son of Harry," said Teddy, as Al waved. Dumbledore looked tickled pink that the boy shared his namesake. "The other one is actually related to me. Scorpius Malfoy, son of Draco."

"Related to you." McGonagall gaped at Teddy, studying his features.

"My mum was Nymphadora." Teddy scrunched his eyes, molding his features to his mother's, and went back to his unmorphed state. "Their mothers are Ginny Pot— Weasley and Astoria Mal— Greengrass, currently. Victoire's is Fleur, but she won't be in Britain for a few years."

"Your ages?" Dumbledore asked evenly, as if time travelers were a daily occurrence.

"I'm 19, Vic's 18, and they're 11," Teddy replied. "Al turned 11 in April and Scorpius's 11th was a few days ago."

"Many happy returns to you, Mr. Malfoy," Dumbledore said, nodding at the boy, who grinned back with his mouth full of sandwich.

"We've got a huge problem, as you can see." Teddy fought a yawn and eyed the sandwiches hungrily. "I'm hungry."

"I got it!" Al brought a sandwich for Teddy and looked at Dumbledore, transfixed. "Your eyes are very blue."

"You've got your grandmother's eyes."

"I know," Al said, shrugging. "Everyone says they're my dad's eyes first."

He rejoined Scorpius, leaving Teddy to take huge bites.

"Do you have a place to stay?"

Teddy shook his head and wiped the crumbs away from his face. "I've got some gold on me—they might too, if we're lucky—but it doesn't matter. We need to go home and pretend none of this ever happened."

"Your predicament is unique," Dumbledore said, after a moment's pause. "I will have to investigate. For now, I will ask the barkeep at The Hog's Head—"

"—your brother, Aberforth," Teddy interrupted, as Dumbledore nodded, with a small, somber smile.

"I'll have him help you." The Headmaster laced his fingers together and watched Teddy for several seconds. "Do you know how to extract memories?"

"I do, yeah. What do you want to see?"

"The last few minutes before you arrived here. No more and no less. Miss Weasley? Do you know the same?"

She nodded, and with Teddy, they pressed their wand tips to their temples and extracted silvery strands, letting them float to the Pensieve.

"Thank you, Mr. Lupin, Miss Weasley."

"Please call me Teddy. Mr. Lupin was my dad."

"Was?" McGonagall gasped. "You said your mother was . . ."

Teddy grimaced and explained the only way he could. "The war took them both. I wasn't a month old."

McGonagall clapped her hands to her mouth. Tears formed around her eyes and Teddy felt awkward; he'd never seen the Headmistress cry. In his periphery, he saw Victoire shrink in her seat, evidently uncomfortable with the exchange as well.

"You don't wish to see them?" Dumbledore asked gently.

Teddy chewed on his lip. "I'd love to . . . but I shouldn't. I don't want to prevent my own birth."

"Very wise of you, Teddy." Dumbledore tapped his fingers together and glanced at the two boys who had returned to petting Fawkes. "I'll see what I can do. I'll go with you to The Hog's Head and arrange for rooms. You appear to be needing rest."

"It's been a long—" Teddy curled his lip upward. "I don't even know what time it should be." He met Victoire's gaze and saw the dark circles under her eyes. Some of their potions were wearing off and their hangovers would return in full force.

"No matter," Dumbledore said kindly. "I will take care of everything."

Dumbledore stood and ushered the travelers to the fireplace. He told McGonagall he'd be back soon, and Teddy was whisked away to spend the day at the pub with Al, Victoire, and Scorpius.

It was well past sunset when Al and Scorpius fell asleep. Teddy had stayed awake with them all day, giving Victoire a chance to nap, but it left him almost sick with exhaustion. He was past the point of sleepiness, too fatigued to fall asleep, and after asking Aberforth to keep an eye on the boys, he went out into the night.

He let his feet take him towards the Shrieking Shack. Under the moonlight, it looked creepier than before, with its broken windows, hunks of roof blown off, and massive cobwebs adorning the façade. It didn't look like this in Teddy's time; the Shrieking Shack was rebuilt into a homey facility for a handful of werewolf students who came to Hogwarts after the war. They were given Wolfsbane Potion and a safe place to transform. Teddy toured the house, once, finding it sparsely, but warmly decorated in rich purples and golds. The Shrieking Shack stuck as its name, despite the lack of screams, and Teddy was secretly thankful, as it was another link to the father he never knew.

"I thought I'd find you here."

Teddy almost jumped out of his skin.

"It's just me."

"I know," said Teddy. "I wasn't expecting you."

"Why aren't you in bed?"

"Can't sleep."

"You must be knackered."

"I am."

Their exchange was too brief, too cordial. Teddy felt he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. A new time, responsibility for all of them, and despite the more pressing concerns, he wanted to talk about last night.

Even if last night felt like a lifetime ago.

"Hey, Teddy. About . . . this morning."

"I'm sorry about my gran."

"She was fine," said Victoire, coming to lean with Teddy against the wooden fence surrounding the Shack. "I wanted to say I'm sorry. It's not the first time that's happened to me, but it's usually not so . . ."

Teddy clenched his jaw. Of course it wasn't the first time she'd woken up in another man's bed. Victoire was the most beautiful girl at Hogwarts—she and everyone else knew it—and she could be with anyone. Why she'd come home with Teddy was a mystery; his heart sank, wondering if she'd planned it, if only to try sex with a Metamorphmagus.

"It was really embarrassing. You're not like other blokes, you're—" Victoire inhaled sharply, looking resolutely ahead. "—I don't want to say family, because that's weird and ghastly to think of what we did and—"

"—I know, Vic," sighed Teddy, rubbing his tired eyes open. "We've known each other forever."

"Which is why I'm ashamed of myself."

Teddy hung his head and pressed his lips together. If Victoire thought of their night with shame, there was no hope for anything but friendship and regret.

"I didn't even ask you if you were seeing someone—"

"—I'm not. I doubt I'd have—"

"—right. You're honorable like that. Not every bloke's so considerate."

An owl flew overhead, hooting softly into the night. A colony of bats followed, flying straight into the Shrieking Shack.

"Your gran said you've never done that before. Brought a girl home."

"I don't usually go out for dancing and drinks, either."

A funny little peep came from Victoire.

"Does that mean you'd never been with a girl?"

"No," Teddy replied. "I dated Aoife in seventh year and we had our fun. There've been a few others, but nothing that's lasted."

"I feel like such a slag."

"Don't call yourself that."

Victoire rubbed her palm against her eye and shivered.

"Are we still friends?"

"Why wouldn't we be?" Teddy asked. "Did you think I wouldn't want to be friends with you?"

"I was worried you'd think less of me."

"I couldn't think less of you. We're friends, Vic," Teddy said, his voice cracking. "We'll always be friends."

Victoire sniffled and wiped her nose against her sleeve. Teddy wanted to hold her and kiss her hair, but that's what boyfriends did. Friends conjured tissues for each other and said 'it would be all right.'

"Thanks," Victoire mumbled, taking the conjured tissues from Teddy. "It's been a stressful day."

"I know." Teddy gave her a small smile. "We'll figure it out. You, me, and the boys. We'll be back home and it'll be like nothing happened. You'll see."

"You think so?"

"I do."

Teddy didn't have the heart to tell her he was lying.