Morning arrived at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry with the distant toll of the castle bells.
Albus Severus Potter was already awake.
He had spent half the night thinking about the letter he had written.
The parchment now rested neatly folded beside his bed.
He stared at it for a long time.
Then he tied it carefully to the leg of a school owl.
The bird blinked once, spread its wings, and disappeared into the pale morning sky through the high tower window.
Albus watched it go.
A strange nervousness settled in his stomach.
He wasn't afraid of writing to his father.
He was afraid of what his father might write back.
---
Breakfast in the Great Hall was loud as usual.
Students crowded the tables beneath the enchanted ceiling, which displayed a bright blue morning sky drifting with clouds.
Scorpius Malfoy sat beside Albus, carefully reading a book while eating toast.
"How can you read during breakfast?" Albus asked.
Scorpius didn't look up.
"It helps me ignore people."
Albus glanced around.
He understood immediately.
Two second-year Slytherins nearby were whispering loudly.
"Look."
"Potter and the Dark Prince."
"Do you think he talks to snakes yet?"
Another boy laughed.
"Maybe he talks to ghosts."
Scorpius closed his book calmly.
"They'll get bored eventually."
Albus frowned.
"You sound very confident."
"I'm lying," Scorpius replied quietly.
Albus couldn't help smiling.
---
That afternoon, they had Defense Against the Dark Arts.
The classroom buzzed with nervous energy.
Defense Against the Dark Arts was one of the most famous subjects at Hogwarts.
It had once been taught by legendary witches and wizards.
One of them had been Albus's father.
Harry Potter.
Their current professor, however, was far less legendary.
He was thin, nervous, and constantly adjusting his glasses.
"Today," he said quickly, "we will be discussing basic defensive spells."
Students opened their books.
But the whispers had followed them into the classroom.
A boy sitting behind Scorpius leaned forward.
"So tell us something, Malfoy."
Scorpius didn't respond.
The boy continued.
"If you're really related to the Dark Lord, does that mean you're good at dark magic already?"
Several students laughed.
Scorpius kept staring at his book.
Albus felt anger rising slowly inside his chest.
The boy leaned even closer.
"Maybe he's waiting for his father to return."
Someone whispered the name again.
Lord Voldemort.
That was enough.
Albus stood up so quickly his chair crashed backwards.
"Shut up."
The classroom went silent.
The boy smirked.
"Or what, Potter?"
Albus's hands clenched into fists.
"Or I'll make you."
The boy stood up as well.
"Oh, I'm terrified."
Before anyone could stop him, the boy shoved Scorpius hard.
Scorpius stumbled sideways.
The book fell from his hands.
For a split second, the entire room froze.
Then Albus moved.
He lunged forward.
The two boys crashed into a desk, knocking books and parchment everywhere.
Students shouted.
The professor panicked.
"Stop! Stop immediately!"
But the fight had already begun.
Albus shoved the boy backward.
The boy tried to swing at him.
Albus ducked instinctively and pushed him against the wall.
Scorpius grabbed Albus's arm.
"Albus!"
But Albus barely heard him.
All he could hear were the whispers.
Potter.
Slytherin.
Malfoy.
Voldemort.
Anger exploded inside him.
The professor finally managed to separate them using a small spell.
Both boys were forced apart.
Breathing hard.
The classroom was completely silent.
The professor looked horrified.
"This behavior," he said weakly, "is completely unacceptable."
Albus wiped blood from his lip.
He didn't feel sorry.
Not even slightly.
---
Later that evening, Albus sat quietly in the Slytherin common room.
Scorpius sat across from him.
"You shouldn't have done that," Scorpius said gently.
Albus shrugged.
"He deserved it."
"Maybe."
Scorpius sighed.
"But now everyone will talk even more."
Albus stared into the fireplace.
"Let them."
Scorpius studied him for a moment.
"You're different than I expected."
"How?"
"You're angry."
Albus didn't deny it.
Across the room, an owl suddenly swooped through the window.
It landed directly in front of him.
The letter tied to its leg carried a familiar seal.
The Potter family crest.
Scorpius leaned forward.
"Your father?"
Albus nodded slowly.
He untied the letter.
For a moment he hesitated.
Then he opened it.
The words inside would change everything between them.
---
## Far away, in London
Inside the busy headquarters of the wizarding government, a man stood near the tall windows overlooking the city.
The Ministry of Magic was unusually tense today.
Ministry of Magic officials moved quickly through the corridors.
Harry Potter stared down at a file lying on his desk.
Inside it were reports about a forbidden magical artifact.
A device thought to have been destroyed years ago.
A Time-Turner.
Harry frowned.
Time magic was dangerous.
Unpredictable.
And someone had recently tried to steal one.
What Harry didn't know was that somewhere inside the shadows of the wizarding world, a young woman with silver hair had already begun her plan.
A plan involving two boys at Hogwarts.
One named Potter.
One named Malfoy.
Her name was Delphi.
Delphi.
And the game had only just begun.
---