m.i.a.v.i. un: g.g.

[roblet]

I have a number of inquiries if anyone would be willing to humor me. Some are for any Ministry officials reading, others are for anyone.

Will accommodations be made for those of us that cannot legally Apparate yet? What I am asking is this: if one is too young to Apparate and lives in the village set aside for "time deviants," will the community be connected well enough to the floo network that they will be able to get to work in London or will they be restricted to finding work in Hogsmeade for proximity? I am not sure just how close an eye the Ministry intends to keep on us.

What if we already have the Trace on us from another country?

Now for some general questions.

Who is hiring, may I ask? My skill set is wide-spread and I am not very squeamish.

Fellow "time deviants" : how many of you have settled into this provided (as it were) housing? How many of you still need accompaniment or assistance in paying?

When are you from? Where are you from? How do you feel about this place? Tell me these things.

Thank you very much for your time.

Comments

[engorgimpressed]

[Scorpius doesn't seem to know whether to be incensed or worried or terrified or some dreadful mixture of all three.]

What do I mea--

[He's still breathing hard, and his voice is getting an edge of shriek-y, but drawing even more attention is sort of against his point here. He stops and just tries to settle his breath for a moment, muttering a Muffliato while the regular buzz of the pub returns. He leans in close over the table, keeping his voice low.]

Albus. We're stuck in the past again, in some nightmare timeline where Tom Riddle is Minister, and you just put your full name and the fact that you've time-traveled where anyone could read it. For starters.

[And now he's started, so he has to keep going.] And you just told Gellert Grindelwald you're named after Albus Dumbledore. And-- [did he have another thing? Scorpius throws up his hands.] We are at such a disadvantage, here, Albus, and the only thing we have going for us is what we know that they don't! You have to be more careful about what you say and who you say it to!

[secondpotter]

[It's been a few months since he's seen Scorpius so worked up. The last time was over his final NEWT exam. Albus thought he was going to suffer a heart attack if he didn't de-stress.]

Breathe, Scorpius. It's ok. Really. I know we're in some mad timeline but I doubt that anyone actually reads these things. Especially when it's someone else's conversation. But all right, yes, I probably shouldn't have put my name out there. Of course, I did meet with my Grandmum and told her my name out in the open a few hours ago...

[Albus pauses, now wondering if it had been a good idea to meet with anyone outside of Scorpius.]

I'm sorry, all right? But honestly, I didn't realize who I was speaking to. I understand that's not much of an excuse... but really, just because I'm named after Albus Dumbledore doesn't mean much here. I'm not him, am I? And Gellert Grindelwald is young. Probably our age if not younger. I don't think we're talking full grown Dark Lord levels, after all. I was careless, I admit it, but honestly, I think we'll be all right.

[engorgimpressed]

[He's not panicking, is he? He's been here over a week without panicking why would he be panicking now, just because Albus is here and made a mistake and oh god they're going to die okay yeah he's panicking just a little tiny eensy-weensy bit.

He buries his face in his hands. It's not okay, but hearing Albus say it is makes it feel like it could be, maybe.] Please be more careful, Albus. We can-- We can get you a new pen, with a different username that's not in any way tied to your actual name, and you can't just tell people who you are on that one, alright? That'll be the secret one. But I need you to take this more seriously! We're not just messing about and then trying to fix our own mistakes, this is something-- far more complicated!

[Wait. Hold up. Backtrack a moment. He peers at Albus through his fingers.] You talked to your Grandmum? Which one?

[secondpotter]

[There's more to Scorpius' panic attack than just concern that Albus had completely blown their cover. Albus stands up and shifts across the table, sitting next to Scorpius. He puts his arm around Scorpius' shoulders and hugs him.]

I'm sorry. I am. I promise I'll be more careful next time. I forget what that other world was like, you know? I didn't see it. That doesn't make me less of an arse for running my mouth when I should have kept it shut. We're in this together.

[He picks up his notebook and flips through the pages, showing Scorpius the conversation with Lily.]

Grandma Weasley isn't around, not that I know of. I saw Lily's name show up and I just... I couldn't stop myself. Not after the last time we saw her. Or heard her...

[Where Scorpius is haunted by the visions of the Dark Timeline, Albus is haunted by the sounds of that drifted from the house in Godric Hollow that horrific night.]

[engorgimpressed]

Yeah... [When Albus puts an arm around him, Scorpius slumps against him, closing his eyes for a moment. They're fine, for now. If nothing else, they have each other. And he definitely can't begrudge Albus speaking to his grandmum, especially after-- well.

Merlin, what he wouldn't give to speak to his mum. She wouldn't even be born yet, in this time, but what if she was displaced like them? Even if it meant she had to be trapped here--

No, he probably shouldn't think like that.

He reads through the conversation with Lily, feeling far more settled. More thinking things through than panicking.]

Was it a good talk?

[secondpotter]

[Albus enjoys the quiet moment when Scorpius leans against him. He can't imagine what it would be like if he'd arrived without him here. The only reason he's so open with others is because Scorpius was here. He feels safe. Scorpius always looks after him. No matter what sort of trouble Albus manages to find himself in, he knows that Scorpius is there to help him out of it again. Without him... Albus doesn't even want to consider it. Not in this strange time or even in their own. He doesn't know who he is without him and he doesn't really want to find out. Not if he can help it.]

Yeah. She's a lot like my mum which is funny. I guess you really do gravitate towards people who remind you of your family. She said I looked just like a Potter. Wonder what she'd say if James or Lily showed up here instead...

[Albus trails off, realizing he hasn't thought about his family at home once since he arrived. Strange that he was so worried about missing Scorpius that it didn't occur to him to think about anyone else. Well... maybe it wasn't that strange at all.]

[engorgimpressed]

[Unfortunately for them both, Scorpius can only do so much. He's really gonna need Albus to pick up some of the slack here.

He really doesn't want to move, but the middle of the Leaky Cauldron isn't really the place for a cuddle with his best mate, so he'll reluctantly pull away after a moment.]

I think their names might throw her for another loop, first off. [Scorpius grins a little.] I'd bet someone in your family's shown up, though, or is going to if they haven't already. I mean, it just seems more likely than not. [You know, because there's so many of them.]

[secondpotter]

I don't know if I want my family to suddenly start popping in. That would mean there's even more we need to fix. Could you imagine if Rose showed up?

[Albus might not show it, but he's fairly certain that something he and Scorpius did landed them here. Hopping around time as they did probably broke something. Maybe the last time they didn't put things right. What if the ripple effect didn't occur until years out? These questions are sure to haunt him once he has time to himself to sort things out.]

[engorgimpressed]

Well, if we fix the first thing that made it go wrong, then the rest of it'll just fall back into place and none of this will have happened.

[Because, yknow, time travel. That's how it worked last time!]

But I don't know if I'd want my dad showing up here either... or Rose. [Or anyone, really. Because this is dreadful.]

[secondpotter]

[Albus sighs and puts his hands over his face, pressing on his eyes. This is bad. He doesn't know why he hadn't realized just how much except that it was easier to get things done when he didn't think about the danger.]

We'll put things right. We have to. And when we get home the only adventure I want to have is one which involves flat hunting. That's as mad as I want to get.

[engorgimpressed]

[Yeah it's pretty bad. Scorpius nods, trying to believe Albus' words even though it's obvious he doesn't even believe them himself.]

I bet we could make that pretty mad. [He smiles, though it's faint with worry.]

[secondpotter]

What are the odds that I somehow manage to blow up the kitchen our first week in our new flat? [Albus grins, forcing himself to change the subject. If they simply focus on the horrible situation they've found themselves in, they'll go mental. Albus knows he certainly will.]

[engorgimpressed]

I'd be terribly cross if you did, especially if you didn't at least ask me to join you in whatever endeavor managed it. [Scorpius' returned grin is a hesitant thing, but present, and genuine.]