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

[alwaysreturns]

[It doesn't hurt, the way Albus pulls away from him - Ron doesn't know the guy, after all - but he could be Harry's double, hell if he's abandoning his nephew.

Family is important to Weasleys, after all.

His gaze shoots between the two, but it doesn't take much to huff out an impatient breath - fine, the Malfoy can come - that turns very quickly into more alarm, leading directly to outright panic.]

Absolutely not. [He keeps his voice low, shifting around a chair so he can lean in close enough to hope he won't be overheard.]

If you register, they'll have the Trace on you, and that's it. [trust nothing trust no one

wait, trust him, don't trust the ministry. yes that seems right. He pauses for all of half a second, then tries to usher them both outside again.]

I know a place, I can apparate us somewhere we can talk. [He thinks. Hopes. Please Merlin don't let him get Harry and Ginny's son murdered by soon-to-be Death Eaters or something.]

[engorgimpressed]

We don't have any other choice! I've already had to register, if you don't give them any reason to be suspicious, then they won't be! They already know about him, anyway, so it's too late. We'll have to be careful, but-- that would be true either way.

[Scorpius mutters in reply, eyes scanning the street. Maybe he hasn't lived through a war, but he's seen the place this world leads, and habits he'd developed there come back quick and hard.

He pushes away memories of an older Ron and Hermione, throwing themselves at a fleet of dementors so he would have a chance to make the world right again.

Albus is by his side this time. That makes it all so much more manageable. He turns back to Ron, smiling apologetically.] We'll have to talk later. He's already caught Auror attention, and they know him by name. That we got a warning at all is lucky, we shouldn't press it. We can meet up with you after?

[secondpotter]

[He doesn't like the idea of a Trace any more than Ron does. It reminds him too much of the time when his Dad tracked his movements at Hogwarts with the Marauders Map. Merlin, that had been hell, for more reasons than the constant vigilance.]

They summoned me by name. Based on what I've heard and what Scorpius has said, they're not the sort of people who ask twice. Unless the idea is to go into hiding for the rest of my life, I don't have any other choice.

[He gives Ron a comforting smile (or at least, what he thinks is a comforting smile) before he turns serious once more.]

You don't have to come with us. In fact, it's probably better if you don't. That way you might be able to avoid the registry as long as you can.

[alwaysreturns]

That's exactly the idea!

[Ron wonders how much they know, how much they can tell him and how much he and his friends and family will tell these kids in the future. Does he actually understand what he's walking into?

If Harry survives long enough to have a kid then he must survive this thing. So Voldemort can't, isn't that the point of the prophecy? This is too much thinking for Ron. He stops abruptly and looks between Scorpius and Albus. They're his age if they're a day. ]

They're all Death Eaters. You know what that means, don't you?

[engorgimpressed]

Yes, we know. And they have Ministry sanction to hunt down anyone they're aware of who hasn't registered. [Scorpius doesn't like either option, but this one seems the most manageable.]

They have the Trace on so many people, so long as you don't give them a reason to look into you, they won't bother to. As far as they're concerned, they've won. They have no reason to worry. Better to let them keep thinking that.

[secondpotter]

Uncle Ron.

[Albus walks over and puts his hand on Ron's shoulder. He gives him what he hopes is a reassuring smile.]

Trust me. There are things that Scorpius and I have been through that give us a bit of an edge here. We'll explain everything later. Just... keep yourself safe, yeah? I'll be sure to contact you after.

[alwaysreturns]

[He nearly snaps at Scorpius - not through any fault of his own, because when he's looking back at this from a reasonable standpoint he'll see there was none - but because he's saying things Ron does not want to hear and he looks so much like a Malfoy that, right now, it makes him a bit sick. Difficult not to imagine what Scorpius' father is doing right about now at home, and it entirely involves being a prick with a pricky tattoo on his arm doing Death Eater-y things with other Death Eaters.

Ron is so afraid for the family who must still be in their proper time, and it's so hard to separate that fear from this time, and from the apparent future.

Albus puts a hand on his shoulder and Ron struggles not to just scowl at him. His nephew. This feels like failure.

Maybe that's the problem. He already feels like he's not good enough at this.

He lets out a sharp breath he didn't realize he'd been holding.]

And you're better at not getting looked into than your dad was, I hope? [Things they've been through doesn't particularly inspire him with hope, but that just means Ron's resolve to hang about to keep Albus' head down is increasing.]

[engorgimpressed]

We've got each other's backs. [Scorpius stays back a bit, partially because Ron looks rather like he's looking for an excuse to hex him.

Not like this was his first time winning the man over. More like third. Even if he is rather younger this time...]

They're going to look into us no matter what, I think. Which is why we have to make it seem like there's nothing to see. [Granted, Scorpius has rather more of an edge than Albus, but... see point one: they have each other's backs.]

[secondpotter]

[Albus resists the urge to reach back and take Scorpius' hand to squeeze it - half in gratitude that Scorpius was there to have his back, half to reassure himself that no matter what Scorpius was there.]

And there isn't anything to see. Dad isn't even around and no one has ever heard of The Boy Who Lived. I'm just another Time Deviant with a pureblood last name.

[Albus gives Ron's shoulder a little shake and a look that he hopes exudes confidence and not the false bravado he's using to mask his own worry.]

[alwaysreturns]

[If Scorpius had any other surname, Ron would probably feel put at ease by his words. He'd be nowhere without Harry and Hermione, and he knows the same goes for them, too - well, maybe not Hermione, she'd probably be better off without the two of them getting into all kinds of trouble and needing her to get them out - but the point is, he knows how important it is to have friends, real friends, who can look out for you when you can't.

He just doesn't get how that friend can be a Malfoy. That just doesn't make any bloody sense. Ron can't really help the glare he's got on Scorpius, honestly probably doesn't wholly realize he's doing it.

And maybe he could work himself up to try putting his foot down or throwing his weight around as uncle (even though his mental reaction is still ???????????????????????), but what Albus says deflates him. He's right: Harry isn't around, and Ron is terrified of the idea of being trapped here with no one at his side.

At least Albus has someone. Ron's not sure he can deny him that, he doesn't even know the bloke. (He's pretty sure he knows Mafoy, but maybe eventually he'll realize that's not fair at all.)]

Right.

[He can hear how put out he is, let down, and straightens his back as best he can. Harry may not be here, but Ron is. He can't just do nothing.]

Go on, then. We'll figure out what to do about...all of it, later. Just keep your head down, yeah? [Never mind that that was Scorpius' exact advice...]

[engorgimpressed]

[Scorpius stays hanging back, deciding to let them sort it out. Not like there's anything he could say to help, so it's probably best if he just doesn't say anything.

A (childish, old, ignored) part of him rails at the unfairness of it, but there are bigger, more immediate things to deal with than his hurt feelings. He still doesn't say anything, but he does tug lightly at Albus' sleeve, the one that isn't up at Ron's shoulder. They really do need to get going, before trouble comes looking.]

[secondpotter]

Thanks, Uncle Ron. [Albus is tempted to give his uncle a hug out of habit, but restrains himself. For one, Ron looks as though he's had enough mind scrambling thoughts for one day. For the other, he's not oblivious to the fact that Ron - this Ron, and even to some extent, future Ron - still can't get past Scorpius' last name.

He lets Scorpius' tug pull him towards the door, giving his uncle one last smile before he turns. He brushes his hand against Scorpius' own, squeezing it gently. It's an apology of sorts, one that doesn't seem to change no matter what time period they're in.]