The night wind whispered across the towers of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Inside the castle, most students were asleep.
But in one of the quieter courtyards, three figures stood beneath the pale silver light of the moon.
Albus Potter.
Scorpius Malfoy.
And Delphi.
The stone fountain in the center of the courtyard gurgled softly, the only sound breaking the silence.
Delphi seemed perfectly calm.
Albus, however, felt his heart pounding in his chest.
"Tell us everything," he said.
Delphi smiled faintly.
"I was hoping you'd say that."
Scorpius folded his arms.
"Before we start planning crimes, I'd like to know exactly what kind of madness this is."
Delphi laughed softly.
"Fair."
She stepped closer to them.
"The Time-Turner isn't in public storage anymore."
Scorpius frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Delphi glanced around to make sure they were alone.
Then she lowered her voice.
"After the old Time-Turners were destroyed, the Ministry secretly began experimenting with new ones."
Scorpius's eyes widened slightly.
"You're saying they rebuilt them?"
"Not many," Delphi replied.
"But one survived the experiments."
Albus felt a surge of excitement.
"A working Time-Turner."
Delphi nodded.
"Yes."
She looked directly at him.
"And it's locked in the most secure place in wizarding Britain."
The headquarters of the Ministry of Magic.
Scorpius groaned quietly.
"Of course it is."
---
Albus paced slowly beside the fountain.
"Even if it exists… we can't just walk into the Ministry."
Delphi tilted her head slightly.
"No."
She smiled.
"But you might."
Scorpius narrowed his eyes.
"That sounds like a very bad sentence."
Delphi continued calmly.
"Your father works there, Albus."
Albus stopped pacing.
"Yes."
"He has access to parts of the Ministry most people never see."
Albus frowned.
"You're suggesting I… steal something from my dad's workplace."
Delphi shrugged.
"Not steal."
"Borrow."
Scorpius sighed.
"This is definitely stealing."
---
For a moment the courtyard fell silent.
Albus stared at the fountain.
The idea was insane.
Breaking into the Ministry.
Stealing a Time-Turner.
Changing history.
But another thought kept whispering in his mind.
*You could do something important.*
Not just be the son of a hero.
Become one.
"Tell us about Cedric," Albus said quietly.
Delphi's expression softened.
"He was brave."
She looked up at the stars.
"Kind. Loyal. The kind of wizard people trusted immediately."
Scorpius nodded slowly.
"I've read about him."
Cedric Diggory had been one of Hogwarts' brightest students.
He had died during the final task of the Triwizard Tournament.
Killed the moment Lord Voldemort returned to power.
Delphi continued softly.
"His death was pointless."
Albus swallowed.
"If we save him… what happens?"
Delphi turned to him.
"The world changes."
Scorpius muttered,
"That's exactly the problem."
---
Scorpius stepped forward.
"Time travel is dangerous. Every book about it says the same thing."
Delphi raised an eyebrow.
"Books are written by people who failed."
Scorpius blinked.
"That's… not reassuring."
Delphi's voice grew more serious.
"The Time-Turner allows only short jumps."
"Five minutes?"
"No," she replied.
"Five minutes in the present… can open a path decades into the past."
Both boys stared at her.
Albus whispered,
"So we could go back to the Triwizard Tournament."
Delphi nodded.
"To the day Cedric died."
---
Scorpius ran his hand through his hair.
"This is insane."
Albus turned toward him.
"Is it?"
"Yes!"
Scorpius gestured wildly.
"We'd be interfering with history!"
Delphi spoke quietly.
"History interfered with Cedric first."
Scorpius hesitated.
Delphi stepped closer to him.
"Tell me something, Scorpius."
She lowered her voice.
"How many rumors have you heard about yourself?"
Scorpius froze.
"You know exactly what I mean," Delphi continued gently.
"The whispers."
"The rumors that you're somehow connected to the Dark Lord."
The name hung in the air unspoken.
Scorpius looked away.
Students across Hogwarts had whispered the same lie.
That Scorpius Malfoy might secretly be the son of Lord Voldemort.
The idea was ridiculous.
But rumors were powerful things.
Delphi spoke softly.
"The past shapes the present."
She looked at both boys.
"If you change the past… you can change the future."
Scorpius stared at the ground.
Albus felt the weight of the idea pressing harder and harder.
Finally he spoke.
"How do we get into the Ministry?"
Delphi smiled slowly.
"The Hogwarts Express."
Scorpius blinked.
"That's not even remotely connected."
"It is if you think creatively," Delphi said.
She pulled a folded parchment from her cloak.
A map.
The moving staircases of Hogwarts.
Secret passages.
Hidden corridors.
Albus leaned closer.
Delphi tapped a specific location.
"A secret exit."
Scorpius squinted.
"That leads to Hogsmeade."
Delphi nodded.
"And from Hogsmeade… we travel to London."
Albus felt the plan forming in his mind.
Fast.
Dangerous.
Impossible.
Perfect.
---
Far away in London…
Inside the offices of the Ministry…
Harry Potter suddenly looked up from his desk.
Something felt wrong.
A strange unease settled in his chest.
As if the future itself had just shifted slightly.
---
Back at Hogwarts, beneath the moonlight…
Albus Potter made his decision.
"We do it."
Scorpius looked at him in disbelief.
"You're serious?"
Albus nodded.
"We save Cedric Diggory."
Delphi's smile widened.
Because the second step of her plan had just succeeded.
---