Ginny Potter was sitting in the living room of 12 Grimmauld Place. Harry was still at work, as he quite often was these past couple of weeks, so he still didn't notice the missing Time-Turner.
Ginny was reading the latest issue of the Prophet, where everyone was still discussing the upcoming divorce of Hermione and Ron. Ginny wasn't surprised when Hermione told her that she and her brother had decided to end their marriage. However, she was surprised by the news that Draco Malfoy was getting a divorce as well. The reasons for the dissolution of that marriage had been adorning the pages of newspapers for quite some time now. Everyone was still discussing how Astoria had cheated on Draco and how he had so calmly reacted to it, simply wishing her happiness. Ginny had long known that Malfoy had changed, but after hearing Hermione's stories, she started looking at him in a completely different light.
Mrs Potter was pulled out of her thoughts by Albus's voice, "Mum, are you in the living room?" asked Albus as he poked his head into the living room.
"Yes, Al. Did you want something?" asked Ginny, putting the newspaper down on the coffee table.
"I wanted to talk to you. But I'm not alone. Can we come in?"
Ginny immediately realised that her son was talking about Scorpius Malfoy. Those two were joined at the hip. "Of course, come in, boys. Albus, it's not polite to keep a guest standing in the hallway," said Ginny in a feigned stern tone.
The door to the living room swung open, and Albus and Scorpius appeared on the threshold.
"Come in, come in. Scorpius, dear, do you want anything? Maybe a cup of tea?"
"I'm good, thank you, Mrs Potter. Maybe a little later." Scorpius looked a little nervous when he smiled.
"Ah, I understand. You must have something serious to tell me." Ginny smiled widely. "Well, come on in; don't be shy. Sit down and tell everything."
Ginny sat down in the armchair next to the empty fireplace, and the boys settled down on the sofa opposite her.
"So, what happened?" asked Ginny, looking into the young wizards' faces.
"It's about the Time-Turner," said Albus.
Ginny looked at her son in surprise.
"Before we travelled deeper into the past, we decided to test the Time-Turner in action first. We went back to this winter break and landed next to Father's office, where the past me was inside it looking for the Time-Turner. We saw you coming down the stairs." Albus grinned.
"Oh, I see how it is," said Ginny. "So what did you need the Time-Turner for?" The woman looked at the boys with a smile.
"I wanted to find my father's first love," said Scorpius, looking straight into Mrs Potter's eyes.
Ginny's eyes widened in surprise, but she remained silent, so Scorpius continued, "The day before Christmas, I asked my father if he had ever been in love, and he told me a beautiful but heartbreaking story. He told me how the first time he truly saw this girl's beauty was during the Yule Ball, when she appeared in the Great Hall in this magical pink dress, leaving him speechless just by looking at her. My father told me how after her ginger friend hurt her, she cried on the stairs and how he came up to her and silently handed her his handkerchief."
Ginny listened to the young man with bated breath.
"He told me about how the day after the second trial at the Triwizard Tournament, she hugged him for the first time, and he realised that he was head over heels in love with her. He told me about how he sent her an owl, inviting her on their first date and how nervous he was that she wouldn't return his feelings. He told me about their first date. About their first kiss." Scorpius smiled. "I listened to my father's story and promised myself that I would find out who this mysterious girl was. My father told me everything. Everything except her name. He told me about their secret dates in the Room of Requirement and the first time they said 'I love you.' It was very painful to watch my father tell me about the time they broke up." Scorpius fell silent.
Ginny was very curious to know what had really happened that day, so she asked the boy, "So why did they break up?" Ginny asked with undisguised interest.
Scorpius looked at Mrs Potter intently and said, "Before the start of their sixth year, my father recieved the Dark Mark. When he was first offered to become a Death Eater, he immediately refused. But Voldemort was not used to people saying no to him, so then the threats came. Someone reported to him about my father's relationship with this girl, even though they were extremely careful. But Voldemort knew. He said that he would kill her and make my dad watch. He said that my father had already sunk to the very bottom by being with a muggle-born.
"My father could not allow this monster to kill the love of his life. These were his exact words, 'the love of my life.' So he took the mark and said that he would carry out Voldemort's task. For her. He would've done anything then just so that Voldemort wouldn't touch her. When the sixth year began, my father started to distance himself from her. He didn't want to expose her to danger, so he never told her about the Dark Mark or about Voldemort's task. After that, he broke up with her, causing inexplicable pain to them both." Scorpius sighed heavily. "That's why I wanted to find that girl. To explain everything to her and see if maybe it wasn't too late to fix everything." Scorpius fell silent.
Ginny couldn't believe her ears. Draco Malfoy broke up with Hermione not because he was afraid of his family's opinion but to save her life. And he took the Dark Mark not out of cowardice. Quite the opposite, actually. Ginny Potter's world was turning upside down.
"During Christmas Dinner," Albus began, "I overheard Dad and Aunt Hermione talking about the last Time-Turner, and I got an idea on how to help Scorpius. After we returned to Hogwarts, we made three trips into the past and found out the name of that girl." Albus looked at his mother, very interested in seeing her reaction.
"After we found out that the girl's name was Hermione Granger," Scorpius continued, "Albus suggested that we turn to you for help because you know her better than anyone. And I really hope that you can help us."
Ginny looked at the boys sitting in front of her and tried to digest everything she had just heard. Her son went back in time to help find the lost love of his best friend's father. When did her boy grow up? Ginny smiled warmly at both boys and said, "I'm so glad you came to me with this. Together, we'll definitely come up with something."
"So you'll help us?" Scorpius looked at Mrs Potter hopefully.
"Of course, Scorpius. My best friend's happiness depends on it. I'll take care of the conversation with Hermione, so you don't have to worry about that." Ginny smiled. "I'll tell her everything you told me. But they both still need to talk. How can we arrange it?" said Ginny thoughtfully.
"What if they do it during the banquet?" Scorpius suggested. "Father will definitely be there. We'll just need Hermione to be there too..."
"I'll make sure of that," said Ginny enthusiastically. "She'll be there."
"Thank you both so much for helping. It means the world to me," said Scorpius, looking at Albus and Mrs Potter.
"Scorp, I'll always be there for you." Albus squeezed his friend's shoulder and smiled widely.
Ginny watched the boys with warmth spreading in her chest. Everything was finally getting better. She would do everything to make Hermione listen and ensure that her friend talked to Draco.
Hermione sat in her office, poring over the never-ending paperwork. The banquet dedicated to the victory over Voldemort was fast approaching and, as the Minister of Magic, she had a lot on her to-do list. Thankfully, it wasn't her organising the celebration this year, so that was something. That morning, before Hermione headed to work, Ginny Potter dropped by her house and said that she needed to talk later. Ever since then, Hermione had been wondering what was it that Ginny wanted to discuss, though she had a pretty good guess. Her thoughts immediately turned to Draco. She had learned from the newspapers that he had divorced his wife. Hearing that made her incredibly happy, although maybe it shouldn't have... A spark of hope was still smouldering in the witch's soul. Even after so many years, she still loved him, never stopped, really.
Hermione was so deeply immersed in her thoughts that she kept rereading the same sentence over and over again. The fireplace suddenly flared up with green flames, and Ginny stepped out, dusting herself off.
"I knew that I'd find you sitting like that, surrounded by parchment." Hermione didn't even look up from the paragraph she was supposedly reading. "Anybody home?" Ginny came up to her friend and waved a hand in front of her friend's face. "I think you're due for a break."
Hermione finally looked up, eyes focusing on her friend. "Ginny, hi! I didn't see you there!" Hermione smiled and stood up from the table.
"Of course you didn't." Ginny scoffed and hugged her friend. "Do you ever take breaks?"
"Of course I do!" Hermione laughed nervously.
"Well, knowing you, not often enough." Ginny smiled warmly. "I think now is the most perfect time for a break." Hermione had opened her mouth to object, but her friend interrupted her. "That's not up for discussion. There's a lovely muggle café nearby. Let's go."
Ginny took Hermione's arm and led her towards the exit of the Ministry. The weather that day was absolutely stunning, the end of April finally gifting the Londoners with bright sunshine and cloudless skies. The women approached a small café next to the Ministry and decided to sit on the outside terrace so they could enjoy the sunny day because you never knew with the English weather. One minute, it was sunny with no clouds in the sky; the next, it was pouring rain, so you should enjoy the sun while you can.
Having made their order, Ginny spoke first, "I wanted to talk to you, dear."
"I got that part. You told me that this morning, remember?" Hermione grinned. "I couldn't concentrate properly all day, just kept thinking about what the conversation would be about. Or should I say about whom it would be about?"
"Smartest witch of the century, ladies and gentlemen." Ginny chuckled. "Alright, then, straight to business." Ginny sobered up and continued, "The story is going to be long, so get comfortable." Ginny looked up at the coming waiter, "Ah the tea is here, fantastic. Thank you, dear."
When the waiter left, Hermione added some milk and a teaspoon of sugar to her tea. The witch picked up her cup, took a sip and got ready to listen.
"I know about the Time-Turner." Ginny went straight to the point. Hermione's mouth fell open in surprise, but her friend quickly reassured her, "Don't worry, it's already been returned to its hiding place. Yes, you heard it right: someone took it out there first before putting it back, and no, it wasn't me." Ginny took a sip of her tea and continued. "I heard the full story myself only a few days ago, so now I'm going to tell you everything as well."
Ginny put her cup down and sat forward in her chair. "As you already know, my Albus and Scorpius Malfoy are best friends. So during this Christmas break, Scorpius decided to ask his father if he had ever loved. Draco answered that he had loved only once in his life, a very long time ago."
Hermione listened to her friend with bated breath. Ginny went on, "So, Draco told his son the story of his first love, but he never said the girl's name. Now, I'll tell you everything that Scorpius told me. I'll try to be as close to the original as possible. This story, actually, made me look at a lot of things quite differently."
Ginny took a deep breath and began, "Alright. Scorpius started his tale by telling me about the time his father first admired the beauty of this girl during the Yule Ball, about how she appeared in the Great Hall in this gorgeous pink dress and turned Draco absolutely speechless with her beauty. Draco told him how, after her 'ginger' friend hurt her, the girl cried on the stairs, and he went up to her and gave her his handkerchief. Scorpius never said any names when retelling the story, and I'm guessing Draco didn't either when he first told it to his son."
Hermione couldn't believe it. Could it be that after so many years, he remembered all the little details, just like she did? Ginny continued, "Scorpius's father told him about how a few days after the second trial, this girl hugged him for the first time, and he realised that he was head over heels for her."
Hermione's eyes filled with tears at these words, but she quickly blinked them away and continued listening. "Draco told his son how he sent this girl an owl with an invitation to their first date and how nervous he was that she would not return his feelings. Malfoy told him about their first date with this girl and their first kiss. He told Scorpius about their secret dates in the Room of Requirement and their first declaration of love." Hermione smiled warmly at that. Ginny continued, "Now's the most interesting part. You've already told me all of this, but what happened next, the real reason Malfoy broke things off between you, remains a mystery, even for you. Do you want to hear the rest?"
Hermione answered, "Yes," without a moment's hesitation. Of course she wanted to know, because Draco never told her the reason. She lived in ignorance for 20 years, and it was time to stop. It was time to find out the truth, no matter how bitter it might be. "I want to know, Ginny. I've waited long enough."
"Okay." Ginny smiled softly and took her friend's hand in hers. "Then listen closely. As you already know, Malfoy took the mark before his sixth year." Hermione nodded at that. "Now I'll tell you what really happened that summer, without embellishment or speculation. Only the truth." Hermione held her breath. The witch knew that whatever she was about to hear would change her life forever. Ginny smiled in understanding, squeezed her friend's hand and continued the story. "When he was first offered to become a Death Eater, he immediately refused. But Voldemort wouldn't hear of it, so threats came into play. One of his followers reported to him about your and Draco's relationship, and Voldemort knew everything. And - " Ginny paused for a moment. "He said he would kill you." Hermione gasped, squeezing Ginny's hand in a death grip. The red-haired witch squeezed back in reassurance and continued. "He said that he would kill you in front of Draco and that Malfoy had already sunk to the very bottom by being with a muggle-born. Then Scorpius said one very important thing, and I quote, 'My father could not allow this monster to kill the love of his life.'" A tear rolled down Hermione's cheek. "Scorpius also specified that these were his father's exact words. The boy probably knew that I would be telling you everything and wanted to make sure that you heard those specific words.
"So, Draco accepted the Dark Mark and said that he would carry out Voldemort's task. He did it for you, to make sure that Voldemort wouldn't touch you. Well, you already know the rest. The sixth year began, and Draco gradually began to distance himself. He didn't want to put you in danger, so he didn't say a word to you about the mark or Voldemort's task. He had to let you go, Hermione. He didn't want to do it. And more importantly, he definitely didn't break up with you because of his parents or anyone else's opinion. Even then, Draco had already stopped caring about opinions. He only wanted to be with you."
Hermione could no longer hold back her tears. Ginny moved to the chair next to her friend, who immediately began sobbing on Ginny's shoulder.
"But why didn't he tell me anything?" Hermione said through her sobs.
"Darling, he was afraid for your life. And then he broke your heart and probably thought that you hated him." Ginny winced.
"And after the war? He could've told me everything when the threat was gone." Hermione started gradually calming down.
"Well, you were already with Ron by then." Ginny stroked her friend's hair.
"Merlin, Ginny! We wasted so much time! How could I even think that he left me out of fear of his parents?" The gut-wrenching sobbing resumed. "Why was I so stupid, Ginn?"
"There, there. Stop it. Don't talk about yourself that way." Ginny lifted her friend's chin and looked into her eyes. "Now you know what made him do what he did. And now you know that he still loves you. What you need to do now is ask yourself if you feel the same."
Hermione sniffled, grabbed a tissue from the table and wiped off her tears. She looked Ginny straight in the eyes and said, "I love him, Ginny. I don't think I've ever stopped."
"Alright. Now the next question," said Ginny and smiled. "Do you want to be with him, and if so, are you ready to do something about it?"
"Yes. I want to be with him. We have already lost so much time. I'm ready to do everything I can to stop our suffering." Hermione said firmly.
"Okay, then I want you to do something, alright?" Ginny grinned mysteriously.
"Sure. Anything," said Hermione.
"I'm going to ask you to wear something special to the banquet. I've already bought it, you just need to put it on. Can you do that?" Ginny had a spark in her eyes that she always did when she was up to something.
"How mysterious." Hermione grinned. "I hope you won't make me dress up in Dumbledore's robes."
"That would be fun, but no." Ginny laughed and winked at her friend. "Maybe next time."
The women were silent for a while after that. Hermione spoke first, "Ginn, you still haven't told me how you found out about the Time-Turner." The sorceress was very curious about this fact.
"It's actually quite a fascinating story. During Christmas dinner, Albus eavesdropped on your conversation with Harry in the kitchen. It happened right after Scorpius learned about his father's mysterious love and decided to find that girl at all costs." Both women smiled at that. "After the Malfoy boy told the story to Albus, my son obviously volunteered to help his best friend find her. It so happened that he overheard your conversation right after learning the love story, so Albus came up with a genius plan."
Ginny winked and continued, "A few days before the end of the Christmas break, my dearest son, pretending that he was sick to ensure that he was home alone, decided to sneak into Harry's office. I obviously realised that he was up to something and decided to check." Ginny grinned. "When I came back home, I saw him looking for something in Harry's office. He found the magic book, solved the riddle and opened the hiding place with the Time-Turner. I didn't tell him anything back then, thinking it would be better for him to come to me himself. And when the time came, he did."
"So Albus went back in time?" Hermione asked, amazed.
"Can you imagine? Scorpius really wanted to make his father happy. That boy was ready to go back in time to find out the name of this girl his father loved, and my Albus, the perfect friend that he is, helped him do it," said Ginny, pride filling her voice.
"And how did Albus find out that you knew about the Time-Turner if you never told him?"
"The boys decided to make their first trip a sort of test run and went to the nearest past. They saw me standing at the office door." Ginny laughed.
"And where is the Time-Turner now?" asked Hermione, impressed by the story.
"Back in Harry's office. He'd been so busy with work lately that he didn't even notice it was gone." Ginny chuckled.
"Oh, how I understand him." Hermione laughed, then sobered up and added, "Thank you for telling me everything, Ginn."
"Of course, dear. I'm always here for you. And don't you worry about the outfit. This dress will knock everyone off their feet." Ginny winked at her friend and stood up. "Okay, I'll be off then. And you, missy, don't forget to take your breaks, yeah? I'll come and check to make sure you don't overwork," said Ginny in her mum voice, then dropped the pretence and chuckled.
"Of course, Ginn. Well, I promise you that I'll try," said Hermione, smiling. "Thank you again."
The women paid their bill and exited the café. The best friends hugged, then Ginny went to a side alley to apparate, and Hermione slowly headed back to the Ministry. She definitely wouldn't be able to work today with all her thoughts only about Draco. The witch replayed Ginny's story over and over in her head and decided that she would talk to him, and there was no better time to do that than the banquet at the Ministry.