MINISTRY OF MAGIC, DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL MAGICAL COOPERATION, ELVISH WELFARE DIVISION

Lights come up on the busy waiting room and offices of the Elvish Welfare Division. It's loud with high-pitched chatter. We hear HARRY's voice before additional lights come up. He's revealed to be in HERMIONE's office.

HARRY: I can't stay long. I won't need long, if it's a bother.

HERMIONE: Not at all. It's been a while.

HARRY sits. HERMIONE closes her office door. The ruckus of the waiting room is muted.

That's better. This office is sheer pandemonium before noon. But it's worth the headache. Magical Cooperation has moved on considerably since we were kids.

HARRY: All thanks to you.

HERMIONE (with exasperation): I appreciate that, Harry, thank you.

HERMIONE sits down beside him.

Now, to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit? We're still on for tomorrow night, I hope.

HARRY (uncertainly): Tomorrow night? Sorry, Hermione, my head's a little clogged up with magic, to be honest.

HERMIONE: Belated birthday, remember? We wanted to have you over to the house for dinner. Ron told me you were game when you stopped by the office last week.

HARRY: Right. Sorry. I've been so busy lately. And, you know, I'd rather be there... I just... Sorry.

He lowers his head. HERMIONE looks at HARRY with concern.

HERMIONE: Well, Ron was glad to see you. And the Weasley family clock, though I told him I don't want it in our home. It'll keep me up at night. His coworkers have the clock on display, almost like a shrine to what's capable when mixing magic with Muggle artifacts. Is there a reason you didn't want it anymore?

HARRY: I couldn't... Even after I had Robespierre remove three of the hands.

HERMIONE: Three?

HARRY: Teddy.

HERMIONE: But he isn't — I mean — is he —?

HARRY: I don't know. I was also tired of seeing my name pointing to CONFLICTED.

HERMIONE: Does any of this have to do with Rita Skeeter's "Tell-All"?

She sneers.

That rubbish is coming out this week, if you can believe it. You aren't nervous, are you?

HARRY: No. Why would I be?

HERMIONE: True. You've never been scared of anything, Harry.

HARRY: And it's not as if she actually has something to reveal, now, is it?

HERMIONE: She does, I'm afraid. I have an idea. At least, about one bit.

HERMIONE grimaces and gestures toward the waiting room outside her office door.

One of our recently resettled elves escaped from the service of a goblin household. He was eager to tell me that there's an inquiry into us... but, really, you.

HARRY: An inquiry? At the Ministry? On what merits?

HERMIONE: So, you're saying you didn't know anything about this?

HARRY: No.

HERMIONE: Well, the goblins believe, and they have so for quite some time, that when we broke into Gringotts to steal the cup from Bellatrix Lestrange's vault, we were actually there to release the Ukrainian Ironbelly from captivity. The dragon has never been replaced, as you know, and since our mission to destroy the Horcruxes was a secret...

HARRY: ...they think we did so intentionally. What on earth — and they truly believe this? That we wanted to overthrow the banking system?

HERMIONE: Just you, really. For twenty years they've thought Harry Potter was against them.

HARRY: It's all this anarchy nonsense.

HERMIONE (grinning): Didn't you know, Harry? You're in cahoots with The Tempest. Everything you do is either a conspiracy or a lie to cover-up some nefarious plot. I've heard rumblings... Rita is going to claim that you're planning a coup to take over the Ministry and have Percy removed. Especially because he's somewhat responsible for the death of your wife and son.

HARRY: Somewhat? Hmm... maybe I should...

HERMIONE: What?

HARRY: You're giving me incentives.

They look at one another and HARRY sulks.

I'm joking, Hermione. Can't you tell?

HERMIONE: Not with a frown like that, I can't. Where have you been this summer, Harry? You weren't even there to bring the kids back to school.

HARRY (detached): I know. And yet it feels like I'm always there, on the platform. It's every night, of late. I keep dreaming about the day Albus and Rose left for Hogwarts, only I didn't join them. Lily accepted the owl from the Ministry of Magic that morning. So much of what went wrong with Albus happened because I chose family over work. What a cruel realization.

HERMIONE: Harry, there's never one thing. (beat) I understand. It's common to retrace our steps — to look for where it all went wrong — the small event that could've changed everything. But you know you can't change history. Dwelling on this will only —

HARRY: I know. That doesn't mean I'm allowed to be free. This is all my fault.

HARRY stands, his back to HERMIONE.

It's all my fault.

He faces her.

My fault.

HERMIONE: But this is not all your fault. Al made choices. We have yet to understand those choices, but they were his to make. You raised him the best you could.

HARRY (quietly): If only that were true. It's because his father was "The Legendary Harry". One wonders —

HERMIONE: Don't.

There is a long pause.

HARRY: Regrets consume like fire, don't they, Hermione?

HERMIONE: They can, if you feed the flame. But we cannot let them change us. (beat) James is worried about you. He says that Robespierre does the lion's share of the housework and the cooking these days. Harry, I get that you're struggling to find some sense to all this, but you can't do that to him.

HARRY: Robe told me he doesn't mind.

HERMIONE: But he shouldn't feel obligated. You know what he's been through.

HERMIONE looks up and opens her arms in a gesture that acknowledges her department.

This place means so much. It's necessary. I don't pretend that change will happen overnight, but we can't let them go back to being house elves, even under the most desperate circumstances.

HARRY: You're right.

HARRY nods and HERMIONE catches his gaze.

HERMIONE: So, why are you here?

HARRY scratches his unshaven face tentatively. He reaches into his pocket and hands HERMIONE the letter that was found on the body of ALECTO CARROW.