MINISTRY OF MAGIC, ATRIUM, ELEVATOR LOBBY

HARRY turns from the elevator door, still holding the newspaper. DELPHI is ruminating on what she just overheard.

HARRY: Will someone explain this ludicrous fascination with Voldemort coming back from the dead?

DELPHI (in a considered voice): Harry, once the Daily Prophet releases the story...

HARRY: I know. Mayhem to the nth degree.

DELPHI: We'll need to do a goodwill tour — traveling to wizarding villages — speaking to the people directly, like what you just did.

HARRY: That's Percy's domain. I'm no politician.

DELPHI: They'll need someone to calm their nerves and assure them that the story is false. Someone they already trust and admire.

Silent, HARRY has a thought.

HARRY: Gather every Auror who is not already on assignment. Have them track down Finch-Fletchley. After that, I need them flying, searching, talking to those who know secrets, following those who won't reveal secrets. Something about this feels wrong.

DELPHI: Harry, can I ask... How can you be so certain that Voldemort hasn't returned?

HARRY: I'll explain everything soon. You should know the whole truth if you're to become my second in command.

DELPHI (shocked): Really? But I only just... I mean, I'm grateful...

HARRY: I need people I can rely on, now more than ever. And you're too valuable to be off in the field.

RON and HERMIONE approach them, HERMIONE is gripping a large book. HARRY looks longingly at the shuttering golden grilles, wishing for his own escape.

DELPHI: And if we locate Finch-Fletchley?

HARRY: Tell him to keep quiet about this. If he refuses to listen, deliver him to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. I can't have someone the Minister finds credible spreading falsehoods and fomenting panic.

DELPHI: Harry, they won't admit him without cause.

HARRY: You heard Percy, the man is still suffering from the Basilisk attack. Creature-Induced Injuries. St. Mungo's — First floor.

DELPHI: So, don't bring him in?

HARRY: No, I haven't time in my schedule to question anyone.

DELPHI (hesitating): Then who's that old man in the interrogation room?

HARRY (boggled): There's someone in the interrogation room?

HERMIONE: That's what we wanted to talk with you about, Harry.

RON (slowly): Not interrupting, I hope.

HARRY (to RON): Nothing of the sort.

RON glares at DELPHI, which causes HARRY to clear his throat unhurriedly. DELPHI looks away, aware that she isn't welcome.

DELPHI: I'll go.

HARRY: Fine, take care of that and come straight back. I'm going to need your help. We have to deal with this before it gets any more out of hand.

RON watches DELPHI exit through the golden gates, clicking his tongue petulantly.

RON: Nice cloak.

HERMIONE: If you don't behave, Ronald Weasley, I will tell your Mum.

RON (continuing): Made Auror rather quick, that girl. She's just an assistant, they keep telling me.

HARRY (making to leave): We're not doing this.

HERMIONE: Actually, we are doing this whether you like it or not. (HERMIONE pulls HARRY back and spins him around forcefully) Because fate or... or destiny... is bringing you back together.

HARRY (genuinely surprised): Are my ears deceiving me? Is that the voice of Hermione Granger talking about fate? Have you become a seer now?

HERMIONE: Clever, Harry. But you should hear what Ron has to say. It would make a believer out of any skeptic.

HARRY: I really, honestly, do not have time for this.

HERMIONE: Then make the time.

HARRY: Why have you taken up one of my interrogation rooms? You know, you're supposed to ask first.

HERMIONE: Harry, you need to hear Ron out.

Crossing his arms, HARRY sighs heavily. RON looks at HERMIONE, who nods and adjusts her grip on the large book. RON faces HARRY, reluctantly.

RON (to HARRY): Fine. But if you say one thing about —

HARRY: You'll do what, Weasley?

HERMIONE (to them both): He'll hug you. Because we're all on the same team, aren't we, Ron?

RON: Yes, Hermione.

HERMIONE: Thank you, husband. Now...

RON (sniffing, looks up at the paper airplanes to avoid eye contact): You heard the rumors. Big raid twelve hours ago. There was an enchanted lawn decoration. A happy little man in a green rain slicker. They call 'em gnomes, though they look nothin' like a gnome, at all. Strange how Muggles get it so wrong, don't you think?

HERMIONE: Ron....

RON: Right. It was a clear misuse, but not worth a citation. Even though it was left outside to run free — in a wizard's front garden — in full view of the Muggles. Not really the sort that would require a raid. But every time the gnome was removed, the bloke replaced it with another. Misusing a Muggle artifact so blatantly... it was as if he wanted us to search his home.

HERMIONE: His name is Theodore Nott. He is an Unspeakable. Works in the Department of Mysteries.

HERMIONE takes the newspaper from HARRY's grasp, unfolds it to the correct page and hands it back. HARRY looks down at the newspaper inquisitively.

HARRY: Why do I recognize...?

HERMIONE: He must be related to that boy from Slytherin. His father was a Death Eater.

HARRY (looking closer): No, not his name. It's...his face. I've seen him before — at King's Cross when Albus and Rose were taking the Hogwarts Express for the first time. I swear he was watching me.

HERMIONE (to RON, in a fervent whisper): I wonder if he used it!

HARRY notices the book HERMIONE is holding to her chest. She's gripping it tightly.

HARRY: Used what?

HERMIONE: Tell him, Ron.

RON: The wizard we raided — Theodore Nott— had artifacts that broke all sorts of laws including — an illegal Time-Turner. And quite a superior one at that.

HARRY: A Time-Turner?

HARRY looks at RON in disbelief and drops his volume.

You found a Time-Turner?

RON (nodding): He wanted the ability to go back further than an hour, he wanted to travel back years.

HARRY: So, Theodore Nott is now...

RON: In custody.

HARRY: And the Time-Turner itself?

HERMIONE opens the book. In the center of it — a spinning Time-Turner. It shines out alluringly. HARRY gasps and does all he can not to touch his forehead. He looks at it and then at them both.

HARRY is astonished. He takes the Time-Turner from HERMIONE.

HARRY: Is it genuine? Does it work?

RON: We don't know anything yet. I wanted to try it out then and there but (looking at HERMIONE) wiser heads prevailed.

HERMIONE: Ron knew you had been looking for one, or the existence of one, for years.

RON: Saw it lyin' there. Thought you should have it.

HARRY: Actually, no one should have it, Ron. Hanging on to this, even for the day, you could have been sent to Azkaban. (beat, admiring the golden device) I thought they were all destroyed.

RON: Might be the last one in existence. Do you think it's Dumbledore's — the one you used to save Sirius Black our third year?

HARRY: Could be. It's the only Time-Turner that's unaccounted for after the Battle of the Department of Mysteries.

HERMIONE: I spent months with that Time-Turner. This one is different. Almost handmade.

HARRY: And now we have it. (HARRY begins to smile and hesitates. He is swiftly brought back to reality and looks to RON, stony-faced) You should've brought this to your brother.

RON (suddenly irritated): I knew you'd be ungrateful.

HARRY: No one should be trusted with such power. It needs to be destroyed. We must inform the Minister at once. Follow protocol.

RON: Protocol. It's always protocol with you. (to the passersby) Come one, come all... meet the once-great Harry Potter, now a stone-cold Ministry man.

HARRY (raising his voice): Yes, well... making impulsive decisions is the wrong thing to do when there are lives at stake!

RON: Exactly! There were lives at stake. And taking an extra few minutes to deliberate about protocols and standards could get people killed. When what they need is action!

HARRY: And breaking protocol, which is in place for a reason, is about the quickest way to bring about the deaths of those innocent people!

RON: No one died, Harry. Thanks to me!

HARRY: But they could have, thanks to you!

HERMIONE steps in to separate them, but it's too late. RON is through trying to reconcile.

RON (to HERMIONE): I know you had the best intentions with this, but that... (points at HARRY) is not the same person we shared a compartment with on the Hogwarts Express.

RON turns to exit, stomping his way through the crowd.

HERMIONE: Ron, wait.

HARRY: Ah, let him go.

RON (turning to HERMIONE): I love you, Hermione, but I don't know what you're trying to prove by forcing this. We're not one of the families you need to moderate reconciliations with on behalf of some... mistreated house elves. This was a waste of time.

HERMIONE: Don't say that.

RON: Y'know, sometimes I think he really did die during the Battle of Hogwarts. Because that man, right there, is not Harry Potter.

HERMIONE grieves as she watches RON exit. She trudges back to HARRY, defeated.

COOL FEMALE VOICE: Mind your step. The Ministry of Magic wishes you a pleasant day.

HERMIONE: Like I say — peace — not war. At least the two of you spoke to one another. Progress?

HARRY: He's right, you know. We're never going to agree.

HERMIONE: You fell out over the correct rules of a rescue operation.

HARRY: Ron made a stupid mistake. He should've never done what he did.

HERMIONE: Yes, he made a mistake running into that building. But it was a brave thing he did, you never recognized him for that. He knows he made a mistake, he does.

HARRY: It didn't sound that way to me.

HERMIONE: You know Ron. He's being stubborn.

HARRY: It forced us apart, his stubbornness.

HERMIONE: And your stubbornness is keeping the two of you apart. You should've given him another chance, Harry, instead of filling his position and hiring someone else.

HARRY: I made a decision. It's done.

HERMIONE: Ugh! I cannot stand you two like this. You have to get over your differences.

HARRY: Sometimes families have differences.

HERMIONE: We're not just family, Harry. We're friends.

HARRY: We haven't been friends in years, Hermione.

HERMIONE: You were best friends at Hogwarts!

HARRY: But maybe we'll never be friends again. That was a long time ago. Ron and I are okay with how things are. It's not easy, but we've come to accept it. You should, too, Hermione. I mean, what did you expect? Another adventure? We won't be sneaking under the trapdoor anytime soon. Those days are far behind us. We're adults now. And adults have to solve their own problems before anyone else's.

HARRY holds up the Time-Turner. It gleams momentarily.

I'm following the proper procedures and bringing this to the Minister. Even if it is Percy.

HERMIONE: Even after he bungled that meeting?

HARRY: He's still your Minister.

There is a long silence. HERMIONE doesn't want to leave. HARRY feels like he can't either.

HERMIONE: Voldemort, huh? (HARRY nods disbelievingly) I don't know why Percy is giving into these conspiracies. He's been off his nut lately. Do you know, he spent 10,000 galleons on that collection of cravats? Molly would have a fit if she found out.

HARRY: You don't know the half. He spent another fifty on experimental weaponry. Magical grenades, that sort of thing. (beat) You could've talked to him about this privately. Percy respects you, Hermione.

HERMIONE: Never. The moment I step into his office, he'll try to convince me to work for him again.

HERMIONE gazed down at the device and then back up at HARRY.

You've spent most of your career looking for a Time-Turner, haven't you? And then it came to you, through Ron. Dumbledore would call that significant.

HARRY (introspectively): Dumbledore... I could use his advice right now.

HERMIONE: With the Tempest?

HARRY: No, with my son.

HERMIONE: You have more experience with parenting than he ever did, Harry...

HARRY: I guess. I still... I don't know. I feel like I've never been ready to be a father. I had so much help with Teddy, and James made it easy. But with Albus... I'm making mistakes left and right.

HERMIONE: Maybe patience is all we need. Harry, it's the start of term at Hogwarts, and so the start of a new school year for our two families. I want us all to be friends again.

HARRY: You know, Ginny says she thinks I see more of Delphi than her. Do you think there's a point where we made a choice — parent of the year or Ministry official of the year?

HERMIONE: Perhaps. But I feel like we were both made for these jobs.

HARRY: Now we're back to fate and destiny again.

HERMIONE (cautiously): Harry, may I ask you a... paradoxical question?

HARRY: Paradoxical? I haven't the faintest idea where this is headed but ask away.

HERMIONE: Your scar. It's not... hurting again, is it?

HARRY scratches the back of his left hand.

HARRY: Of course, it isn't. How could it be?

HERMIONE: It's just... we saw you reach for it during the meeting.

HARRY (lying expertly): Nervous habit, Hermione.

HERMIONE: You don't actually think Voldemort could have returned somehow, do you?

HARRY (hesitates): No. No, I don't.

HERMIONE (worriedly): Harry, don't forget, I understand the responsibilities you've faced over the years. They are beyond anyone's imagining. And I know the final decisions always have to be in your hands, just remember you cannot do this alone.

HARRY: Thank you for your concern, Hermione. I'm not alone.

They part with faint smiles and enter separate elevators. The golden grilles close a final time.

Fade to black