Rewritten || Scorpius x Hermione Time Travel AU

16 | Dear Professor Dumbledore

Winter holidays dawned bright and early and Scorpius watched from the Astronomy Tower as his schoolmates one by one trickled out of the Hogwarts gates. A part of him felt a little jealous, knowing that he could not return to the Malfoy Manor to celebrate the holidays with his parents. But then of course, with no means of going back, it was totally pointless to feel like that at all.

He spied the Golden Trio amongst the crowd, his heart speeding immediately with the thought of spending the remaining of his break in Grimmauld Place. The idea that another horcrux was at hand made him excited, and he couldn't wait to see the looks on his classmates' faces when he revealed that Slytherin's locket had been under their noses all this time.

'All right, time to focus, Malfoy,' Al-the-Inner-Voice urged, prompting him to sigh and push himself away from the railings of the Tower. With enough free time at hand, he now did not have any excuse to put off his task of finally fixing the Vanishing Cabinet. The professors had been ruthless with giving homework over the holidays, but Scorpius had plenty of time; he knew he should prioritise properly this time.

Scorpius languidly walked out of the Tower and towards the bare wall opposite the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy, silently thinking of a place where he could fix the Vanishing Cabinet, and waited until a door materialised on the bare wall. Glancing at his watch, he still had a few hours before lunch would be served. But then again, he knew he wouldn't really be missed during meal times. He was the only Slytherin left behind in the castle and he doubted the three Gryffindors, two Ravenclaws, and one Hufflepuff would like to be friends with the Scorpion King.

He then strode purposefully towards the Vanishing Cabinet, determination coursing through his blood. Scorpius was half-tempted to drink a few drops of Felix Felicis today just to push his luck, but decided against it at the last minute. He might have more use of it in the future after all.

The Slytherin pulled down the moth-eaten cloth to reveal the imposing Vanishing Cabinet. He then rummaged inside his pocket to brandish out his wand. "Avis," he whispered, pointing his wand towards an empty cage. Instantly, three birds materialised out of the tip of his wand and flew into the cage.

Scorpius grabbed one yellow bird and closed the cage. The animal in his hand twittered noisily and squirmed relentlessly. "Ow," he muttered with a frown as it nipped his finger twice. He felt a little sorry he was subjecting these animals to his stupid experiment, but it was essential if he needed to succeed.

"Sorry, little bird," he whispered, yanking the cabinet door open and shoving the bird inside. He closed it quickly before the bird could escape. Then, after taking a huge breath, Scorpius pressed the tip of his wand against the wood and whispered, "Harmonia Nectere Passus."

His heart raced when the twittering inside the cabinet stopped. Scorpius opened the door and peeked inside, grinning widely when he saw that it was empty.

"Okay, okay," he murmured under his breath. He closed the door once more, took another deep, shuddering breath, and muttered, "Harmonia Nectere Passus."

He heard a whoosh from inside but felt his stomach drop when there were no bird noises inside. Scorpius tightly closed his eyes, prayed to whoever could hear him that he succeeded this time, then quickly yanked the door open.

To his disappointment, the yellow bird was inside, but obviously dead.

Sighing, Scorpius made the bird disappear and looked at the other birds inside the cage. Strangely, they had gone quiet. Their beady eyes were staring intently at Scorpius, as if understanding what their fate would be in his hands.

"I'm so, so sorry," he breathed out, hoping that at least one, if not both, of them would still be alive.

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