The world dissolved into light.
Albus felt the familiar sensation of time pulling at him again — but this time it was different.
Gentler.
Like history itself was correcting the path they had broken.
The shattered corridor of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry faded away.
The battle.
The smoke.
The echoes of spells.
All of it disappeared.
For a moment there was only darkness.
And then—
Albus collapsed onto grass.
Fresh air filled his lungs.
Birds were singing.
Sunlight warmed his face.
Scorpius landed beside him with a soft thud.
For several seconds neither of them moved.
Then Scorpius groaned.
"Please tell me that was the last time we nearly destroyed the universe."
Albus slowly sat up.
"I'm hoping so."
They looked around.
They were standing on the Hogwarts grounds again.
But this time…
Everything looked normal.
The castle towers were intact.
Students walked peacefully across the courtyard.
No explosions.
No battle.
Just a quiet school day.
Scorpius whispered in relief,
"I think we fixed it."
---
Albus stood slowly.
The castle of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry looked exactly as he remembered it.
Golden sunlight reflected off the windows.
Owls flew between the towers.
Students laughed in the distance.
History had repaired itself.
Scorpius brushed grass from his robes.
"So…"
"We saved the wizarding world."
Albus nodded.
"Again."
Scorpius smiled.
"Not bad for two teenagers."
---
They walked toward the castle entrance.
But something felt slightly different.
Students glanced at them curiously.
Almost like they had heard rumors.
Scorpius noticed it too.
"Do we look different or something?"
Albus shrugged.
"Maybe time travel leaves a weird aura."
They entered the Great Hall.
Inside, students were eating breakfast.
The familiar banners of the four houses hung proudly above the tables.
Everything looked perfectly normal.
At the teachers' table stood the headmistress.
Minerva McGonagall.
She noticed them immediately.
Her sharp eyes narrowed slightly.
"Mr. Potter."
"Mr. Malfoy."
Her voice carried authority.
"I believe we need to talk."
Scorpius whispered nervously,
"That never ends well."
---
They followed her into her office.
The room smelled faintly of old books and tea.
McGonagall closed the door.
Then she turned to face them.
Her gaze was extremely serious.
"You two disappeared yesterday."
Albus blinked.
"Yesterday?"
She nodded.
"Twenty-four hours."
Scorpius whispered,
"That's actually impressive considering we traveled across multiple timelines."
McGonagall sighed.
"And during that time…"
She pointed toward the desk.
"…the Ministry detected several extremely dangerous temporal disturbances."
Albus and Scorpius exchanged a nervous look.
McGonagall folded her arms.
"Would either of you like to explain why?"
Scorpius slowly raised his hand.
"In our defense…"
"We were saving the wizarding world."
McGonagall stared at him.
For a long moment she said nothing.
Then she sighed again.
"I suspected something like that."
---
At that moment the office door opened quietly.
Someone stepped inside.
Albus turned.
And froze.
Standing in the doorway was his father.
Harry Potter.
But this was not the young warrior from the battle.
This was the Harry he knew.
Older.
Calmer.
Still carrying the quiet strength of someone who had survived war.
Harry looked directly at his son.
For a moment neither of them spoke.
Then Harry said softly,
"So."
"I hear you've been interfering with time again."
Scorpius whispered quietly,
"I'm going to pretend that sentence was directed at you."
Albus stepped forward slowly.
"Dad…"
Harry's expression was serious.
But there was also something else.
Understanding.
"McGonagall told me everything the Ministry detected," Harry said.
"Time distortions."
"Broken timelines."
"Temporal magic."
He looked at Albus carefully.
"Want to tell me what happened?"
Albus hesitated.
Then he realized something.
For the first time…
He didn't feel afraid to talk.
"We tried to change the past," he admitted.
Harry nodded slowly.
"I guessed that part."
Scorpius added quietly,
"We also accidentally created a timeline where Voldemort won."
Harry blinked.
"…I'm sorry, what?"
---
McGonagall rubbed her temples.
"I knew this conversation would become complicated."
Albus took a deep breath.
Then he told the whole story.
The Time-Turner.
The alternate timelines.
Delphi's plan.
The battle.
The moment they destroyed the Time-Turner.
When he finished, the office was silent.
Harry looked thoughtful.
Finally he spoke.
"You saved history."
Scorpius nodded proudly.
"We did."
Harry looked back at Albus.
"And you risked everything to fix your mistake."
Albus lowered his eyes slightly.
"Yes."
Harry stepped closer.
Then he placed a hand on his son's shoulder.
"You know something?"
Albus looked up.
Harry smiled slightly.
"That sounds exactly like something I would have done at your age."
For the first time since this entire adventure began…
Albus laughed.
---
Outside the office window, the peaceful world of Hogwarts continued.
Students walked through the courtyard.
Owls circled the towers.
History was safe again.
But this adventure had changed something important.
Not just the timeline.
But the relationship between a father and a son.
---