The office of Minerva McGonagall had rarely been this quiet.
Albus and Scorpius sat in front of her desk.
Across from them stood Harry Potter.
Outside the tall windows of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the afternoon sun cast warm light across the castle grounds.
It was peaceful.
Normal.
But inside the room…
Everyone understood something serious had happened.
Time itself had nearly broken.
---
McGonagall adjusted her glasses slowly.
"I have received a very detailed report from the Ministry of Magic."
Scorpius whispered,
"That sounds bad."
She looked directly at him.
"It is."
She placed several official documents on the desk.
"The Department of Mysteries detected at least seven major temporal disturbances within the last twenty-four hours."
Harry raised an eyebrow.
"Seven?"
Albus coughed awkwardly.
"Well… there were multiple timelines."
McGonagall closed her eyes briefly.
"I suspected as much."
---
Harry stepped closer to the desk.
"What about the Time-Turner?"
McGonagall answered immediately.
"Destroyed."
She looked toward Albus.
"According to the Ministry report, the device shattered during the final disturbance."
Scorpius nodded proudly.
"That was actually our plan."
Albus added,
"If it still existed, someone else might try to use it again."
Harry agreed.
"That was the right call."
But his expression remained serious.
"Time magic is one of the most dangerous forms of magic in existence."
McGonagall nodded.
"That is why the Ministry banned nearly all Time-Turners after the war."
Scorpius leaned back in his chair.
"Well… technically this one wasn't ours."
Albus sighed.
"That's not helping."
---
Harry looked thoughtful.
"Speaking of the war…"
He glanced at the report again.
"The Ministry also mentioned a name connected to the disturbances."
Albus knew what name was coming.
Delphi.
Harry looked at his son carefully.
"You said she was responsible."
Albus nodded.
"Yes."
"She planned everything."
Scorpius added quietly,
"She wanted to create a timeline where Lord Voldemort won the war."
The room fell silent again.
Even years after the war…
That name still carried weight.
Harry finally spoke.
"Where is she now?"
McGonagall answered.
"The Ministry located her shortly after the final disturbance."
Albus sat up.
"They caught her?"
McGonagall nodded.
"Yes."
Scorpius looked relieved.
"That's good."
Harry looked toward the window thoughtfully.
"Delphi spent years trying to rewrite history."
"People who believe that strongly in something rarely stop easily."
---
Albus remembered the look on Delphi's face when the Time-Turner shattered.
Years of planning.
Destroyed in seconds.
He asked quietly,
"What will happen to her?"
McGonagall answered calmly.
"She has been taken to a secure magical prison."
Scorpius blinked.
"Azkaban?"
McGonagall shook her head.
"No."
"Azkaban was changed after the war."
Harry nodded.
"The Dementors were removed."
Scorpius whispered,
"Good."
"They were terrifying."
---
McGonagall turned her attention back to the two boys.
"Now we must discuss something else."
Albus suddenly felt nervous again.
"What?"
She folded her hands on the desk.
"The consequences."
Scorpius sighed quietly.
"Here it comes."
---
McGonagall's voice remained firm but fair.
"You interfered with time."
"You altered multiple historical events."
"You nearly destroyed the timeline."
Albus nodded slowly.
"Yes."
Scorpius added,
"But we also fixed it."
Harry crossed his arms thoughtfully.
"That part matters."
McGonagall agreed.
"It does."
She looked at the boys carefully.
"You showed bravery."
"But also recklessness."
Scorpius raised a hand slightly.
"That's a family tradition for both of us."
Harry laughed softly.
"Unfortunately true."
---
Finally McGonagall reached her decision.
"You will not be expelled."
Both boys sighed with relief.
"But—"
Scorpius groaned.
"There's always a 'but.'"
"You will spend the next month assisting the library staff."
Albus blinked.
"The library?"
"Yes."
"You will catalogue historical records."
She gave them a meaningful look.
"Perhaps studying history will remind you not to change it again."
Scorpius whispered to Albus,
"That's actually a pretty clever punishment."
Albus nodded.
"Yeah."
---
The meeting ended shortly afterward.
McGonagall returned to her paperwork.
Scorpius left the office.
But Harry stopped Albus at the door.
"Albus."
His voice was softer now.
More personal.
Scorpius noticed immediately.
"I'll uh… go ahead."
He slipped out of the room quickly.
Leaving father and son alone.
---
For a moment they simply stood there.
Harry looked at his son carefully.
"You saw me during the battle."
Albus nodded.
"Yes."
Harry smiled slightly.
"Must have been strange."
Albus shook his head.
"Actually…"
"It helped me understand something."
Harry raised an eyebrow.
"What?"
Albus hesitated.
Then he spoke honestly.
"I finally saw what everyone else always saw."
"A hero."
Harry looked slightly uncomfortable.
"I've never liked that word."
Albus smiled.
"I know."
"But it fits."
---
For a moment neither of them spoke.
Then Harry said quietly,
"You know something?"
Albus looked up.
"When I was your age…"
"I made plenty of reckless decisions too."
Albus laughed slightly.
"That's reassuring."
Harry placed a hand on his shoulder again.
"But you also did something important."
"What?"
"You fixed your mistake."
Harry's voice carried quiet pride.
"That matters more than anything."
---
Outside the window, the sun began to set over Hogwarts.
The long adventure through time was finally over.
History was safe.
But the future—
The future still belonged to Albus and Scorpius.
---