Albus Don't you Dare!

In or Out?

Past (1995)

I can't take it anymore! I can't just stay here and watch all of Dad's friends die. No, I got to do something; I've got to save them.

Albus thought that to himself as he looked at them, exchanging jokes and laughter in the kitchen. 

"C'mon Padfoot, I'm serious!" said Remus.

"No, I am!" said Sirius, letting out his bark-like laugh.

"Me too!" James exclaimed; Remus slapped his forehead in defeat.

Albus was convinced that he ended up in this timeline for a reason. He just couldn't wait and watch his father's friends to die. He was going to rescue them if it was the last thing he ever did; he didn't mind if James or Draco would think of it as a bad idea.

And there was only one person who could agree to this: Scorpius.

"I hope he'll say yes." Albus muttered under his breath, trying to find his best friend.

Thankfully, he managed to find Scorpius all alone in the small room with the Black Family Tapestry.

"Hey there, Scorp."

"Oh hi,"

"What are you doing here? Where's Rose?" Albus asked, sitting on the floor next to Scorpius. "Your Dad's getting suspicious about you dating Rose by the way."

"Damn! He's gonna kill me when he finds out about us!" Scorpius panicked. "Oh, and Rose? She's upstairs talking with Ginny, Tonks and her mum. I think it's best if we'd keep our diatance away from Dad, now that he's stuck here with us, especially if he's getting suspicious."

Scorpius's eyes returned to the to silver lines on the walls, the branches of the Black Family Tree dating back centuries ago. He turned towards Albus and pointed the Family Tree.

"You know Scorp, I've never met any of them before. Almost everyone says that pure-blood families are tied together. But in my opinion, they're not. I mean, in reality half of them are dead and the other half are locked in Azkaban. And Delphi is my distant cousin, it sucks really."

"Cousins?"

"Well, remember the tale of the three brothers and the Deathly Hallows?"

"Yeah,"

"The youngest brother, Ignotus Peverell, is actually an ancestor of the Potters. And Ignotus's brother Cadmus, is Voldemort's ancestor, so is Delphi's."

"That's kind of weird," Scorpius chuckled. "The Boy Who Lived and the Dark Lord are mortal enemies but at the same time relatives."

The two boys exchanged hollow laughs at this.

"Well about pure-blood families being tied together, I never really thought about it that way," said Scorpius. "Mother and Father always said that pure-blood mania is just a pile of rubbish. It doesn't mean that you're related to someone, you're just as bad as them."

Albus looked at the wall, thoughtfully and said. "Look at me. I'm the first Slytherin ever in my family; it doesn't make me evil."

"I just don't want to be a Death Eater like the rest of my family." said Scorpius.

Albus then got up from the floor and locked the door. "Why'd you lock it?" Scorpius asked.

"Scorp, listen. I've been thinking about this for the past few days and what if I sent us all here for a reason?"

"Huh? I don't understand, Al."

"What I was trying to say is, maybe we were transported back here to change the past and save Sirius, Fred, Remus and Tonks."

"Al, you know we can't do that," said Scorpius apprehensively finally understanding Albus's point. "We tried to save Cedric last year and look how things turned out. Our own existences were almost wiped out. Sometimes, things happen for a reason."

Albus shook his head and laughed at his best friend's advice.

"Listen to me!" said Scorpius, trying to change his friend's mind. "We weren't sent back here to save your Dad's friends. You accidentally broke the time turner and that's why we landed here."

"Why now Scorp? Why not five years ago? Or maybe fifty years ago?"

"Albus, you're losing your mind."

"I am not losing my mind!" Albus yelled, yanking the collars of Scorpius's jacket. "You know how heartbroken Dad was when he lost all of them. But this time, it's different, if we save Sirius in the Department of Mysteries all that's gonna change is Bellatrix won't add another person in her 'People I Want to Kill' list. Then Sirius would be happy, and raise Harry like his own son."

"But he still has the Weasleys." said Scorpius.

"And Remus and Tonks were already married and had Teddy when they were killed. And all that's gonna change for them is blocking and dodging a certain Death Eater's curse or whatever...they'll probably have another kid, maybe another boy or maybe a girl! What really matters is that Teddy will get the chance to live a happy life with both of them alive."

"And what about Fred?" Scorpius reasoned. "His date was Angelina in the Yule Ball and Freddie and Rox might have not exist."

"Fred only saw her as a friend, not his girlfriend or something. And it was George who fancied Aunt Angelina, so there is a hundred percent chance that they'll still have Freddie and Rox. At least he still has his twin with him."

"Albus, I'm not sure about this." Scorpius told Albus, still not convinced.

"Look Scorpius. A minute ago, you just said to me that you don't want to be like the rest of your family, and now is your chance to make things different and save innocent people's lives."

Albus stared at his best friend, a sense of hope shining his green eyes.

"So, are you in or out?"

Albus reached his hand for Scorpius's.

"To be honest. I'll be regretting this 'til the day I die," Scorpius groaned. "I'm in it."

"See?" Albus joked. "Easy as pie."!