The discovery in the library refused to leave Albus's mind.
Even hours later, as the torches lit the stone corridors of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, he kept thinking about the missing pages.
Scorpius walked beside him.
Both boys were unusually quiet.
Finally Scorpius spoke.
"So… we're not ignoring this, right?"
Albus shook his head.
"No."
"I tried."
"But I can't."
Scorpius nodded.
"Same."
They stopped near a tall window overlooking the dark forest.
"If the Ministry never confirmed Delphi's identity," Scorpius said, "then everything she told us might not be true."
Albus crossed his arms.
"Or someone erased the truth."
---
The wind rattled the castle windows.
For a moment neither of them spoke.
Then Scorpius said something that made Albus pause.
"What if she wasn't lying?"
Albus looked at him.
"What do you mean?"
Scorpius hesitated.
"What if she *believed* she was telling the truth?"
Albus frowned.
"That doesn't make sense."
Scorpius shrugged.
"Memory magic."
"False identities."
"Hidden histories."
"We literally just broke time."
Albus sighed.
"Fair point."
---
They needed answers.
And there was only one person who might know.
The next morning they waited outside the office of Harry Potter.
Harry had come to Hogwarts to speak with the Headmistress.
When he stepped into the corridor, he looked surprised to see them both waiting.
"Let me guess."
Scorpius raised a hand.
"Before you say anything—"
"We found something."
Harry sighed.
"That's never a good sentence."
---
Inside the office, the boys explained everything.
The journal.
The missing pages.
The incomplete investigation.
Harry listened carefully.
He didn't interrupt once.
When they finished, he leaned back in the chair.
"That report was written right after the war."
Scorpius nodded.
"Exactly."
Harry looked thoughtful.
"The Ministry conducted hundreds of investigations during that time."
"Most were incomplete."
Albus asked quietly,
"But what if this one wasn't?"
Harry looked at him carefully.
"What are you suggesting?"
Albus answered slowly.
"Someone might have hidden the truth about Delphi."
---
Harry stood and walked toward the window.
The grounds of Hogwarts stretched peacefully below.
For a long time he didn't speak.
Then he said quietly,
"There's something you should know."
Both boys leaned forward.
Harry turned back toward them.
"After the war…"
"The Ministry discovered several secret groups still loyal to Lord Voldemort."
Scorpius frowned.
"Death Eaters?"
"Not exactly."
Harry's voice grew darker.
"These people weren't soldiers."
"They were believers."
Albus felt a chill.
"They believed Voldemort would return?"
Harry nodded.
"Some still do."
---
Scorpius looked uneasy.
"So Delphi might have been connected to them?"
"Possibly."
Harry continued.
"But the Ministry never confirmed it."
Albus thought about the missing pages again.
"Maybe someone didn't want them to."
Harry looked directly at his son.
"That's exactly what worries me."
---
The room fell silent again.
Then Scorpius asked the question both of them were thinking.
"What happens now?"
Harry sighed.
"Now?"
"Now you two stop investigating secret conspiracies."
Albus smiled slightly.
"That's not going to happen, is it?"
Harry looked at him.
Then he laughed softly.
"No."
"Probably not."
---
But Harry's expression soon became serious again.
"There's one more thing."
Both boys looked up.
"The Ministry recently questioned Delphi again."
Albus leaned forward.
"What did she say?"
Harry answered slowly.
"She repeated the same story."
"That she is the daughter of Voldemort."
Scorpius crossed his arms.
"But that doesn't prove anything."
Harry nodded.
"No."
"It doesn't."
Then he added something that made the room go quiet.
"But she also said something else."
Albus felt his heart beat faster.
"What?"
Harry spoke quietly.
"She said the timeline has already changed."
---
Scorpius blinked.
"What?"
Harry continued.
"She claimed the events you two caused…"
"Didn't just affect the past."
"They changed the future."
Albus felt a cold chill.
"That's impossible."
Harry shook his head slowly.
"Normally yes."
"But time magic doesn't always follow normal rules."
Scorpius whispered,
"You mean…"
Harry finished the thought.
"The future might not be the same anymore."
---
For a long moment, none of them spoke.
Outside the window, the wind howled across the Hogwarts towers.
Albus finally said quietly,
"So what do we do?"
Harry looked at both boys.
"We move forward."
"Carefully."
Then he smiled slightly.
"And hopefully…"
"No more time travel."
Scorpius laughed.
"Agreed."
---
But as the boys left the office…
Neither of them noticed Harry looking out the window again.
His expression had changed.
He looked worried.
Because deep down…
Harry knew something about time magic.
Sometimes the timeline repairs itself.
But sometimes…
It creates something new.
Something unpredictable.
And somewhere far away…
In a prison cell surrounded by magical wards…
Delphi was smiling.
---