A/N: Thank you for those who have reviewed this story! If you like this story, I have another big WIP in the works, Supernova. It's a Tedromeda (Ted x Andromeda) AU! Thanks for reading!

Three tired wizards and one exhausted witch made their way back to the castle after the Hogwarts Express left Hogsmeade station. Al and Scorpius wanted to see the students go off, and as enticed as Teddy was to see a pink head of hair belonging to his mother, he made them stay at the pub. He plied them with Chocolate Frogs and waited until the train's horn was a distant sound. Victoire was patient with them, having so many years of experience with younger cousins; she admitted quietly, to Teddy, that she couldn't bear to see two living Weasley twins, and avoiding the train was for the best.

It had taken five days to get back to the castle, and with each hour that passed by, Teddy felt himself lose hope. Surely their absence would've been noticed; Draco would've seen that a Time Turner was missing—how it came into his possession was anyone's guess—and Harry would come to the rescue. That's how it went; Harry would save the day and it would all be well.

It was not well, and Teddy spent the last few days in Hogsmeade with two homesick boys and Victoire. The adventure had worn off and they were itching to go back home. Teddy missed his friends and family, though he had three of them with him. The boys were kids and he had hardly any patience for their crude humor after a few days with them, but he was growing more grateful by the minute that Victoire was there. She also missed her family, but she was 18 and accustomed to being away from them for days and weeks at a time.

The castle was eerily empty when they returned. They were escorted by McGonagall, whose expression didn't give anything away. Teddy almost longed to be back there as a student; re-doing his school years would be less painful than being stuck 26 years in the past with no way to meet his parents until he knew he hadn't prevented his birth.

McGonagall said the password ('ice mice') but didn't follow Teddy and the others up to the office. Dumbledore awaited them, wearing his serene, portrait-like expression.

"Come sit, gentlemen, Miss Weasley." He gestured to the four chairs across from his desk. Scorpius and Al stared at Fawkes's perch; where there had been a glorious, healthy phoenix sat a bald, cooing baby bird.

"He burned when we were out?" asked Scorpius. The boy's face fell.

"We missed it," Al said dejectedly.

"Another time, lads," Teddy sighed. "We've got to talk to the Headmaster. Sir?"

"It should come as no surprise that your case was a difficult one," Dumbledore said, adjusting his half-moon spectacles on his crooked nose. "Unfortunately, there is no way to send you back. You must stay here, in 1991."

"WHAT?" Teddy screeched. "STAY? HERE?"

A string of rapid French came from Victoire's lips. Teddy didn't know what she was saying, but he could hazard a guess based on the expletives.

"Please calm yourself, Teddy. I will explain what your options are and you and your friends can choose from among them."

Teddy was on his feet, startled by the news, and he forced himself back down. Victoire had put her hand on his arm, which helped bring him back to reality.

"Time is mysterious, as you know," Dumbledore explained. "There are one of a few situations you've found yourself in. The first is simple: you traveled back in time and you stay out of the way for the rest of your lives. Perhaps I can send you to the States to live there until—2017, I believe is what you said. You change nothing and the risk that you prevent your own births is low."

"Move to the States?" asked Al, with round, apprehensive eyes. "So far?"

"What are the other options, Professor?" Teddy said, ignoring Al's concerns.

"The second: you traveled back in time and begin meddling in it. We won't know if you prevent your own births until those days arrive. If you prevent your own birth . . . you will cease to exist. It is such a rare occurrence that hardly any cases have been recorded. It would very likely send you through a time loop until someone kills you."

To Teddy's left, Scorpius gasped and took his hand. "I don't want to die," he whispered. "We'll go to America."

"There is one more option, Mr. Malfoy," Dumbledore continued kindly. "You traveled back in time and create a new timeline. Your births cannot be prevented because they occurred in a different timeline. This one accounts for the old one, and you'll simply age as expected, starting from the day you arrived."

"But what about the people we left behind?" Teddy asked, looking between Albus and Scorpius. "My gran—their parents—they'll be—"

"—either you'll have disappeared forever, you'll announce yourselves in 2017 as their long-lost relatives, though you'll be much older, and have younger counterparts, or the new timeline will rewrite everything and they will never know you existed."

"I'm confused," Al mumbled. "Is my dad still my dad?"

"Yes, your parents will always be your parents," Dumbledore answered. "How they become your parents is what we are determining. If you leave and stay away, it's possible they become your parents anyway, but you'll be grown-up by 2017, and a younger version of you will take your place. If you stay here in Britain, your presence will change the timeline. I doubt your presence has already been accounted for. I keep very good records of my meetings, past, present, and future, and none indicate four young travelers from 2017."

"So we can change things," Teddy said, with his heart hammering wildly. "That's what you're saying, isn't it?"

"You may," Dumbledore nodded. "However, it will be impossible to know if changing this time will result in your erasure from history or your addition as four odd quirks in the fabric of time and space."

"Meaning, if we change things, we won't know till '98 for me, 2000 for Victoire, and . . . '06 for them," Teddy said, pointing to the boys on either side of him, "if we prevented our births or we're just randomly related to people and they have no memory of us?"

"That is correct, Teddy. Astute indeed."

Teddy's head hurt. He longed to see his parents and reverse their fates, if only to get more time with them, but the scenario had played in his head too many times to count. Even if he saved them, he would have still grown up an orphan in his own time. He would never get 19 years back.

As to the boys, Teddy realized they were effectively orphans, cut off from their families forever. Teddy couldn't be their father, and now they wouldn't have their mothers. Neither Al nor Scorpius seemed to comprehend their sudden orphanhood. Victoire . . . she was like them in some ways, but losing your parents at 18 wasn't a walk in the park either.

Teddy let his forehead fall into his palm. He ran his fingers through his wavy, sandy brown hair, and bounced his leg anxiously. Victoire had stayed suspiciously quiet, only lacing and unlacing her fingers as the Headmaster spoke.

"Have you been told you're very much like your father, Teddy?"

"Huh? Yeah, I have . . ."

He cleared his throat and looked between Scorpius and Al. He couldn't ask two eleven-year-olds to make this decision; Teddy had half a mind to send them overseas, to keep them safe, and risk his own life to save his parents', but one interference could mean the end of their lives too.

Victoire was old enough to make her own decision, but it seemed she was struggling with it.

"I want to stay and help," said Al, poking Teddy's hand. "Dad grew up in a cupboard. I don't want him to stay in a cupboard."

"Pardon me?" Dumbledore blinked several times at Al. "A cupboard?"

"You didn't already know?" Teddy said, dumbstruck. "Seriously? And speaking of which—Sirius is innocent. He needs to get out Azkaban, like, eleven years ago. Harry should live with him. Fu—screw that Blood Protection Charm. Harry's fu—fundamentally unhappy with his aunt and uncle." He felt his ears grow pink as Scorpius and Al smirked at him knowingly.

"Dad almost had to kill you," Scorpius said, looking directly at the Headmaster. "Severus had to do it instead."

"That's my middle name!" Al interjected. "I'm Albus Severus!"

Teddy sighed dramatically and slid further into his seat. Perhaps his expectation of Al as a reserved child was merely because he had two siblings to overshadow him, and now that he had only Scorpius to impress, the boy's natural, Weasley enthusiasm came out.

"You know what?" Teddy suggested, seeing Dumbledore's mustache and jaw twitch, "why don't the lads have a go on the Quidditch pitch and I stay here and tell you everything? It would be easier, I think. Victoire? Will you go with them?"

Victoire winced.

"Please," Teddy mouthed. "Keep them safe."

Dumbledore and Victoire agreed to the idea. He Floo-called McGonagall and asked her to unlock the broom cupboard for the boys and Victoire. It would give Teddy the time he needed to divulge everything he knew between Harry Potter's first day at Hogwarts, and the day it was all over.

After everything was said and done, Dumbledore had two words for Teddy: "I see."

He had talked himself hoarse. Dumbledore listened patiently, asked a few probing questions, but otherwise let Teddy talk to his heart's content. The Headmaster appeared genuinely troubled at several points in the account—including his death at the hands of a cursed horcrux ring—and Teddy wondered if by telling him this, Dumbledore would survive to see the next generation of Potters and Weasleys.

"I'll be honest, Professor," Teddy croaked, "I want to stay. I care if I die, but it'd be worth it if other people don't have to. Maybe there will be a new one of me, and Al, and Scorp . . . but I can't make that decision for them. Harry and Draco would never let them sacrifice themselves the way they had to. Not to mention . . . Al and Scorp are too young to understand what they're agreeing to, if we stay. Victoire can make her own decision. She's of age and her parents fought in the war too."

Dumbledore offered Teddy a Lemon Drop, but he refused it. The Headmaster popped a few into his mouth and sat back in his chair.

"We don't have to decide today. While you and Miss Weasley are old enough to help with the Order, young Mr. Potter and Mr. Malfoy will need your guidance. They were going to start at Hogwarts when you left?"

"Yeah," Teddy replied warily, "but that doesn't mean they should start up this September with their dads."

Dumbledore had the grace to disagree without actually saying so. Teddy began to understand the many things people said about Dumbledore—good and bad—and wondered what kind of reckoning he was in for, if they stayed in Britain until 2017.

"Can you at least free Sirius? I know we shouldn't mess up the future, but Harry could really use someone other than his aunt and uncle. His cousin got better, eventually, but . . . he deserves better."

Teddy knew it was strange to challenge the Headmaster, being removed by over a quarter-century in timelines and perhaps a few lifetimes in age, but Harry's appalling childhood was one of the reasons why Teddy's was so wonderful: Harry didn't want another orphan to grow up without love or happiness.

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled, just like they did in all the portraits Teddy had seen. The Headmaster said, "The true culprit is Peter Pettigrew, who you say is a rat Animagus, presently in the possession of the Weasley family?"

"Yes, sir. I don't remember why Ron had him—he was Percy's old rat—but it was a big thing between the rat and Hermione's cat in one of their years. Victoire will back me up—her dad, Bill, told her this too. He knew Sirius."

"Even if I can prove Sirius Black's innocence, you know I can't remove Harry from his home."

"Two weeks," Teddy argued. "That's what you said to him when he was older. Two weeks a summer. Hell, Victoire and I'll kidnap him if we must."

"I'd rather if you didn't, Mr. Lupin."

Teddy clenched his jaw and fists. "We can figure something out, can't we? I feel so pointless."

Dumbledore tugged on his long beard and blinked at Fawkes, who decided to flap his baby wings wildly, which sent ash and soot all over the desk.

"Yes, I know," he murmured. "It will take time for you to fly again without making a mess of yourself."

"Professor? Any thoughts?"

"I have many of those, Teddy. I have yet to decide which ones are best suited for your new life." The Headmaster had a sudden gleam in his eyes. "You will need funds."

"I was training to be a Healer, and Victoire just finished her N.E.W.T.s so maybe we could—"

"—and a place to live—"

"—I could always do some breaking and entering into the old Black house. It's probably haunted, but livable—"

"—certainly new identities—"

"—names are the last thing on my mind, Professor—"

"—and you want to help without endangering your lives—"

"—if Harry, Bill, and Draco ever find out—"

"—the children will need constant supervision—"

"—the boys especially," Teddy finished, hoping the strange back and forth would come to an end.

Dumbledore had taken a break and scribbled rapidly on a parchment, with his nose barely an inch above the sheet.

"Give me at least a week. I've come up with what I believe is a terribly clever idea, but it will take me some time to arrange. Return to The Hog's Head and await my owl. You'll need new clothes, I suspect."

"Vic and I bought some secondhand things from Gladrags to get us through the days, but you're right. I can't keep up with all the laundry. If I didn't have Vic I'd have lost my mind."

"I'll send Gladys some funds to outfit you, Miss Weasley, Mr. Potter, and Mr. Malfoy with a few more items."

The Headmaster took out another fresh sheet of parchment, with that same determined gleam as before, and penned another letter. He asked for an elf, gave her instructions to find Miss Weasley and the two young gentlemen on the pitch, and peered at Teddy.

"Give me a week, Teddy Lupin. I'll do what I can."

Teddy sat at The Three Broomsticks with Al, Victoire and Scorp and waited for their dinner. Madam Rosmerta was prettier than Teddy remembered, but he thought that she couldn't have been more than ten years older than his current age. She was a shameless flirt, which seemed to annoy Victoire, but Teddy didn't know why. In all the time they'd spent together in 1991, they hadn't had a moment to talk about their one-night stand. The boys inevitably ruined every moment by playing 'who-can-fart-the-loudest,' with no one winning.

"Here you are, boys," Rosmerta said, directing her gaze at Teddy. Victoire crept closer to him, putting her hand on Teddy's arm. "If you're good for your—"

"—brother," Scorpius said, with a smirk, reminding Teddy altogether too much of Draco.

"—if you're good for your big brother, I'll bring you ice cream." She winked at them and set their food down.

Al pumped his fist and Rosmerta sauntered away while Teddy tried not to watch her backside, despite the ravenous roar in his stomach.

"Hello? Teddy?" Al clapped his hands in front of Teddy's face. Victoire hmphed unhappily, and Teddy could only give her a guilty look. The boys burst into laughter and Teddy started inhaling his food. It wasn't as if he and Victoire were dating.

The door to the pub opened wide and a heavy-set man came in, holding a newspaper.

"HE'S INNOCENT!" the man thundered. "SIRIUS BLACK IS INNOCENT!"

The pub's patrons began to whisper as a flurry of owls came to deliver the Evening Prophet. Teddy stopped eating and picked up a copy of the paper, sharing it with Victoire so she could read with him.

SIRIUS BLACK INNOCENT OF ALL CHARGES

Reporting from the Ministry of Magic, your favorite journalist, Rita Skeeter, has news to share. Sirius Black, the once-infamous notorious mass murderer, has been cleared of all charges! The harrowing tale comes to an end after an insider discovered the news from the Wizengamot proceedings this morning.

Black, 31, was sentenced to a lifetime in Azkaban in 1981 after murdering twelve Muggles and a full confession of his crimes. However, this reporter can exclusively share that Black was framed! An old school friend holding a grudge, Mr. Peter Pettigrew, 31, was arrested early this morning in Devonshire. It was found that Pettigrew was an illegal, unregistered rat Animagus and had been in hiding since 1981. A grudge between the two men led to an altercation. Black tried to diffuse Pettigrew's anger, but Pettigrew lashed out and killed twelve Muggles before escaping into the sewers of Muggle London and laying low since then.

Pettigrew was discovered and after questioning with Veritaserum, confessed to the every murder and consequent escape! Black was immediately rescued from Azkaban and pardoned of all his charges. How the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, Head of the DMLE, Barty Crouch Sr., and the Head Auror, Rufus Scrimgeour, plan to atone for their gross oversight has yet to be seen. Fudge merely said it was a "grave error," which Crouch Sr. echoed. Scrimgeour offered no comment.

Black's confession of "I killed them!" was in reference to his guilt for being unable to stop Pettigrew from murdering the Muggles. He is expected to be released this very night!

An anonymous source also states that Black is the father of three unknown, illegitimate children, all rumored to be sons! No Black has attended Hogwarts since the late Regulus Black, the younger brother of Sirius. If Sirius Black did father children, they should be old enough to attend Hogwarts this year or next! Hogwarts officials refuse to give any information regarding students in the Book of Acceptance and declined to comment on Black's supposed children.

Will the children be reunited with their father? What will become of the justice system? Await the next article in tomorrow's Prophet!

"No," Teddy whispered, circling the line reading 'father of three unknown, illegitimate children.' "He can't possibly—no. He couldn't."

Victoire stared at him, puzzled. He'd told her about the meeting with Dumbledore, and the suggestion they free Sirius, but based on the strange comments the Headmaster made, Teddy had a feeling that plans were being made without his consent or input.

"Teddy," Albus poked him in the side. "What's wrong? I thought he was innocent."

"Finish your dinner," Teddy said curtly, wrapping the paper underneath his arm.

"But Madam Rosie said she'd give us ice cream!" Scorpius protested.

"We'll get it later—right now we need to see the Headmaster."

The door swung open and bright, afternoon light came streaming into the pub. Victoire covered her eyes and groaned, while Teddy ducked his head to see who'd arrived.

"There's no need, Teddy." Professor Dumbledore appeared in The Three Broomsticks with a calm smile. "There's someone I'd like you to meet."

Dumbledore stepped aside. Behind him, a scraggly, rail-thin man with haunted eyes looked back at Teddy.

"Hullo, Moony Jr."

Sirius Black, gaunt, emaciated, and freshly shaved, had the nerve to wink.