Time did not move.
It shattered.
Light exploded around Albus, Scorpius, and Delphi as the golden rings of the Time-Turner spun wildly. The air twisted like a storm made of memories.
Albus felt the ground disappear beneath his feet.
For a terrifying moment it seemed like the entire universe had turned inside out.
Voices echoed around them.
Laughter.
Shouting.
The roar of a crowd.
Then suddenly—
Everything stopped.
They collapsed onto cold grass.
---
Albus gasped for air.
The world slowly came back into focus.
Above them stretched a bright blue sky.
Sunlight warmed the ground.
Scorpius groaned.
"I think my brain just folded in half."
Delphi stood up first, brushing dirt from her cloak.
"We made it."
Albus sat up.
And froze.
Before them stood the towering walls of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
But it was different.
Students moved across the grounds wearing older uniforms.
Banners hung from the castle towers.
Bright red and gold flags.
Green and silver.
Blue and bronze.
Yellow and black.
The banners of the Triwizard Tournament.
Albus whispered,
"We actually did it."
Scorpius slowly stood.
"This is… the past."
Delphi nodded.
"Twenty-two years ago."
The day of the **Second Task**.
---
A loud magical whistle echoed across the lake.
Students gathered along the shore, cheering loudly.
Albus stared toward the water.
A massive wooden platform floated in the center of the Black Lake.
Judges stood on a nearby tower watching carefully.
Among them were some of the most famous witches and wizards of that era.
And standing near the edge of the lake—
Was a tall boy with brown hair.
Confident.
Focused.
A Hufflepuff badge on his robes.
Cedric Diggory.
Alive.
Albus felt a strange wave of emotion.
"That's him."
Scorpius followed his gaze.
"So… we're looking at the person we're supposed to save."
Delphi stepped beside them.
"Yes."
Her voice carried a quiet intensity.
"This is where it begins."
---
Students began shouting excitedly as the champions prepared for the task.
Four figures stood near the lake.
Cedric Diggory.
Fleur Delacour.
Viktor Krum.
And a young boy with messy black hair and round glasses.
Albus stared.
That boy looked incredibly familiar.
Because it was his father.
A younger version of Harry Potter.
Scorpius whispered,
"That is extremely weird."
Albus nodded slowly.
Watching his father as a teenager felt unreal.
Harry looked nervous but determined.
Just another Hogwarts student facing a dangerous challenge.
Not yet the hero the world would one day know.
---
Delphi spoke quietly.
"The key moment happens during the Third Task."
Scorpius frowned.
"But we're at the Second Task."
"Yes."
She smiled faintly.
"Which gives us time to prepare."
Albus looked confused.
"Prepare how?"
Delphi pointed toward Cedric.
"If Cedric never reaches the final moment of the maze… he never dies."
Scorpius blinked.
"So we just… stop him from winning?"
Delphi nodded.
"Exactly."
Albus considered the idea.
"If Cedric loses the tournament… he never touches the Triwizard Cup."
Scorpius finished the thought.
"And the Cup never sends him to the graveyard."
Where Lord Voldemort was waiting.
The logic felt strangely simple.
Too simple.
---
Suddenly the whistle blew again.
The champions jumped into the lake.
The crowd erupted into cheers.
Delphi turned to the boys.
"We move during the next task."
Scorpius crossed his arms.
"Wait."
He looked around nervously.
"Are we sure we're not about to break reality?"
Delphi's eyes flashed briefly.
"Reality has already been broken before."
Albus didn't notice the strange tone in her voice.
He was staring at Cedric Diggory diving into the lake.
A hero.
Someone who was never meant to die.
And someone they were about to change forever.
---
Hours later, the tournament celebration continued inside the castle.
Students laughed in the Great Hall.
Music echoed through the corridors.
But hidden inside an empty classroom—
Three time travelers were planning to rewrite history.
Delphi spread a map of the castle across a desk.
"The next task takes place in two days."
The **Triwizard Maze**.
She pointed to the center of the map.
"That's where Cedric reaches the Cup."
Scorpius leaned forward.
"So what do we actually do?"
Delphi smiled.
"We humiliate him."
Albus blinked.
"That's the plan?"
"Yes."
"If Cedric fails publicly… he'll never reach the Cup first."
Scorpius rubbed his temples.
"I cannot believe we are about to sabotage a tournament from twenty years ago."
Albus felt nervous.
But also strangely excited.
This was history.
And they were about to change it.
---
But far away in another part of Hogwarts…
Time had already begun reacting.
The fabric of the timeline trembled slightly.
Invisible cracks forming in the flow of history.
Because changing the past was never simple.
And sometimes the smallest change…
Created the darkest consequences.
---