Chapter 19
At six in the morning, all the members of the third generation were already awake. In half an hour, they would be returning to their own time.
“6:30 a.m. in the Great Hall,” Dumbledore had said the previous night. “You cannot be a minute late,” he warned, and everyone understood that not a minute late meant *not a minute late*.
All the third-generation members were awake, as were Harry, Ginny, Hermione, Ron, Neville, Hannah, Luna, Emma, Lisa, Zack, Charlie, Draco, and Astoria.
The night before, they had already said their goodbyes. Teddy had bid farewell to his parents; it had been a rather sad and melancholic scene. Victoire had said goodbye to her parents as well—it was funny, with Bill coming seconds away from killing Teddy after finding out Victoire was pregnant. Everyone had said their goodbyes to their uncle Fred, which was also sad and melancholic.
Those who were still Hogwarts students had decided they would say their goodbyes in the morning, but those who had graduated couldn’t stay overnight—that would alter the future.
Rose and Lily were in their room along with Emma and Lisa, and they hadn’t gone downstairs yet. Emma and Lisa had said they wanted to give them something before they left but didn’t seem to be able to find it.
“Where did I leave it?” Lisa was rummaging through the room. “I saw it yesterday,” she kept opening drawers and tossing things around.
“Lisa…” Rose was about to suggest using magic to find it, but she was interrupted by a scream from Lisa.
“I FOUND IT!!” Lisa was holding the same jar they had used on their first night there. “Girls, we want to give you this,” Lisa extended the jar, offering it to Rose and Lily. Neither of them took it.
“Lisa, we can’t, it’s your invention,” Rose declined the twins' gift.
“We insist,” Lisa pushed the jar toward them. “We know how to make more, and besides, this is just the draft version. We have plenty more of these. Our dream is to sell them one day, but we want you to have this one.” Lily took the jar.
“It’s the one we used on the first night,” Emma explained, and a small tear formed on Lily’s face.
“Thank you,” Lily threw herself into Lisa’s arms, and Rose into Emma’s. “We’re going to miss you,” all four of them were now crying.
“We’ll miss you too,” Emma wiped her tears.
“Why is it so hard? We knew this wasn’t forever,” Rose now hugged Lisa.
“We’re going to miss you so much,” Lisa repeated, and to avoid crying, she began to talk again. “Inside the jar are the instructions for how to make more of these jars and how to make them work, and also what the colors mean and…” a few tears crossed Lisa’s face. “Ahh, just go already! You’re torturing me. I’m trying not to tie you up and keep you here with us,” Lisa threw herself into Lily’s arms again. Lisa had formed a stronger bond with Lily than with Rose, and it broke her heart to see her go. She scolded herself for letting herself get so attached. “It’s not fair that you’re such a good person, Lily,” Lisa said, laughing through her tears.
“I’m going to miss you too,” Lily’s heart ached, the pain of leaving her friend heavy. “Alright, let’s head down. I won’t be able to go if I don’t leave now.” Lily started walking, followed by Lisa, but Emma and Rose stayed still. “Are you coming?” she asked. They both shook their heads.
“You go ahead, we’ll be right down,” Emma said. Lisa and Lily left the room, leaving Emma and Rose alone.
"Hey, everything’s going to be okay," Rose said as she approached and hugged her friend. Unlike Lisa, Emma had become closer friends with Rose. She felt that Rose understood her a little more, that she didn’t judge her for being who she was, or for being two different people depending on who she was with. She felt they had gone through similar situations.
"Rose, can I ask you a favor?" Emma asked, and Rose nodded.
"Even though no one wants to admit it, times of war are coming and... and I don’t know what’s going to happen but... but... could you check how their future turns out?" Emma asked timidly, her voice trembling.
"Of course, Emma. And don’t worry, everything’s going to be fine, I promise," Rose reassured her, and Emma wrapped herself in Rose’s arms, staying there for a few minutes. "Have you told him yet?" Rose asked as Emma pulled away, and she shook her head.
"Tomorrow," Emma assured her. "Rose, I’m scared, but not for me, for him or her." Rose looked at her, confused. "It’s obvious neither Charlie nor I are ready for this. What if I mess it all up? And the world I’m bringing them into, a world of war—it’s not the right time or age to have a child, Rose. I’m scared, but not for me. I’m scared for their future." She placed her hand on her belly, and tears began to stream down her face. Rose wrapped her in her arms again, and Emma buried her face in Rose’s chest. Rose stroked her hair, trying to calm her down.
"Relax, everything’s going to be fine," Rose said, even though she knew deep down she was lying. Emma was right—what if the same thing happened as with Teddy? "I promise that when we’re back in our time, I’ll check on what happens with your son or daughter," Rose said, trying to make her feel better—and she succeeded.
After a few minutes, Emma and Rose made their way down to the Great Hall, 20 minutes before the third generation would leave. Everyone was already there. Rose looked around for Scorpius and spotted him saying goodbye to his father and mother. She walked over to where they were standing.
When she arrived, she noticed that all three had teary eyes from the farewell, but there was also a lighthearted air about them. "I can’t believe it—Draco Malfoy crying," she said as she rested her head on Scorpius’ shoulder, pointing at Draco.
"Not a word of this. I have a reputation to maintain," Draco joked. Over the last few days, they had developed something akin to a friendship.
"My lips are sealed, I swear," Rose joked back. "Thanks for saving me, I owe you one," she said, and Draco smiled.
"You can repay me by telling me what’s going on with these two. They haven’t stopped hugging like it’s the last time they’ll ever see each other," Draco pointed to Astoria and Scorpius.
"Sorry, that’s another secret I’ll take to the grave," Rose said, trying to lighten the mood. "Anything else I can do?"
"Just stay by his side," Draco said, gesturing toward Scorpius. "It’s clear you make him happy." Draco was getting sentimental.
"You have no idea how happy he makes me," Rose lifted her head from Scorpius’ shoulder and smiled at him. "Aww, I love you," she said, and Scorpius planted a kiss on her head before she rested it back on his shoulder.
That was their relationship—the most adorable and cliché couple on the planet, but also the craziest. Even after they started dating, they never gave up their rivalry to be the best in class, or basically the best at everything. They never stopped trying to outdo each other. Of course, Rose almost always won, but Scorpius didn’t make it easy for her either.
You’d think with that rivalry, they wouldn’t be able to spend a moment alone without shouting at each other, but it was the opposite. They bickered playfully, and at some point, it became a joke between them.
They were the cutest, funniest, and most unusual couple. It was hard for people to understand their relationship, and not many did.
When they first started dating, they were the talk of Hogwarts. Wherever they went, their classmates would whisper to each other. It was awkward for them at first, but they learned to ignore it. They learned to be themselves, even under the watchful eyes of thousands of people who were judging them. They learned to have fun with their rivalry. They learned to put the competition aside and focus on beating the other while always helping each other. They learned that they had their own sense of humor, one that was theirs and theirs alone. They learned how difficult—and easy—it was to go from hating someone to loving them with all your heart. That’s why their relationship was almost exactly the same in private as it was in public. That’s why their bond was so strong. That’s why they trusted each other so much. That’s why no one understood how they hadn’t killed each other yet. That’s why they knew their relationship was forever. That’s why they were friends before they were lovers. That’s why they knew they were perfect for each other.
“God, you two are too cute,” Draco joked.
“I think it’s sweet. You should take notes,” Astoria teased, and Draco laughed.
“Ten minutes, everyone!” Dumbledore called out.
“I think I’m going to say goodbye to my parents,” Rose waved and left. Draco sighed, defeated. In ten minutes, his life would return to misery. In ten minutes, he’d have to go back to his life among the Death Eaters. In ten minutes, everything would return to being a black hole in his life.
As Rose walked toward where her parents were, she glanced around and paused for a moment on each family member. For some strange reason, she felt the need to protect them all and make sure they were okay.
She noticed Victoire and Teddy in a corner, with Teddy’s face in his hands and Victoire rubbing his back. She assumed Teddy was upset about leaving his parents, and that they had both already said goodbye to Zack. Then she saw James and Lily saying their farewells to their parents—not too sad, as they’d see them in a few minutes anyway. Lorcan and Lysander were saying goodbye to their mother, and she saw Lily approach Lysander, plant a kiss on his lips, and then her uncle Harry grumbling as he watched them kiss.
Lysander wasn’t fond of public displays of affection, but for Lily’s sake, he didn’t show it and tried to act as normal as possible.
Lily understood this and would only give him a kiss when she arrived—nothing more. After that, she kept her distance, avoided overly romantic comments, and rarely held his hand. She respected that public affection made Lysander uncomfortable. She knew Lysander loved her and that he didn’t mind physical contact when fewer people were around. She respected that there were different times for affection in their relationship, and it didn’t bother her in the slightest.
Rose then noticed Alice and Albus standing with Neville and Hannah, Alice and Albus holding hands. Rose smiled at the sight, feeling happy to see them together again. They were happier that way.
Finally, she turned to where her parents, Hugo, and Louis were. “Hey, family,” Rose greeted.
“Hey, redhead,” her brother greeted back, and Rose gave him a playful punch on the shoulder.
“I repeat, only Scorp can call me redhead,” Hugo rolled his eyes, and Ron grumbled.
“Dad, grumbling won’t change anything,” Rose pointed out. Ron rolled his eyes again.
“I still don’t get what you see in that Malfoy.”
“And you don’t have to understand it. I’m the one who has to, I’m the one dating him, not you.” Hermione, Louis, and Hugo laughed.
“Same attitude as your mother.”
“Hey!” Rose and Hermione protested in unison.
“Who said that’s a bad thing?” Ron defended himself.
“Alright, everyone, in two minutes you’ll be back in your time. I want you all here right now,” McGonagall instructed.
“Well, I guess this is a ‘see you in a few seconds,’” Rose said. She hugged her mother, then her father, and ran over to Emma, throwing herself at her. “I’m going to miss you,” Rose said. Emma wobbled, trying not to fall, and laughing to hold back her tears, said:
“I’ll miss you too, redhead.” Rose pulled away from the hug.
“Hey, only...” Rose started.
“Only Scorpius can call you redhead,” Emma finished, and both laughed.
“Well, I guess this is it. Bye, my friend,” Rose turned to leave. “You better take care of it,” she called back, threatening Charlie, who just looked at her, unsure of what she meant but nodded anyway.
Rose started running towards McGonagall, where everyone else was already gathered. As she ran, she could hear Emma shouting at her, “Damn it, how do I explain this now?” Rose laughed and, without turning back, shouted, “With the truth and some luck!” She reached McGonagall just in time. The whole situation had taken more time than she had thought; only seconds remained before they would return to their time.
Everyone grabbed onto the Time-Turner, though it wasn’t a normal one. Dumbledore had invented this one, and it would break after its first use. It only worked to take them a few hours ahead from when they had first traveled through time. It wasn’t perfect, but it was enough. And if it helped them return to their time, that was all that mattered.
Before they could react, they found themselves once more in Albus's room, lying on the floor.
They had returned to their time—nothing had changed, everything remained the same, except for them. They were different people.
That journey had changed them, and if it hadn’t yet, it would in the coming hours. Everything seemed to have returned to normal, but no one could imagine all that would happen in the next few hours—no, not even seconds after their arrival.
Everything had changed, whether they wanted it to or not.
Perhaps their present hadn’t altered, but their very beings and everything they thought they knew up to that moment had transformed.