PART 1: ACT 3

PART 1: ACT 3

Delphi and Severus trudged up a secluded lane which led to the perimeter of the Malfoy estate. The night was still and quiet apart from the sound of gravel grinding underfoot. The combination of the gibbous moon and Severus' lit wand guided their way. After a few minutes of walking in silence, Severus eventually spoke.

“I have been thinking about your plan and there are a few things which do not make sense to me,” he uttered in his deep drawl, looking resolutely ahead.

“Go on,” Delphi replied calmly, trotting a little to keep up with Severus' brisk pace.

“Why don't you just go back in time and kill the Dark Lord as a baby? That would seem to be the most straightforward option.”

“And one which could have the most severe and unintended consequences on the timeline,” Delphi countered flatly. “Trust me, a big event like removing him altogether would change the world far too much, and not necessarily for the good. We have to keep HIS timeline running parallel to how it did before or it all goes crazy. And Killing You-Know-Who as a baby could pave the way for another evil wizard to rise up. YOU might grow up to be the Dark Lord without You-Know-Who there. What do you make of that?” She jutted out her pretty chin with an air of finality.

Severus shuddered at the thought, but had to concede that she had a point. He hadn't considered how important every little action and decision the Dark Lord had made and their knock-on effects, and how careful they would need to be to keep his timeline as it is now. But something else was nagging him.

“So why don't you merely destroy the book?”

“I had a feeling you'd ask that. If I destroyed the book, you can bet You-Know-Who would make it his life's mission to find another and the same thing might end up happening anyway, just a few years later, and then all our hard work would be for nothing. And I'm not racing around the world hunting down every copy like some deranged fucking librarian,” Delphi replied casually, fishing in the pocket of her denim jacket for what appeared to be a strange, clear glass pipe.

She noticed Severus eyeing the thing suspiciously. “It's a Vape. A new-fangled way of smoking without the messy, smelly business of cigarettes.” She inhaled a puff of caramel-smelling smoky vapour and then handed the end towards Severus. “Wanna toke?”

Severus merely wrinkled his nose in response. Delphi shrugged, took another puff and continued.

“So destroying the book is a no-go. But, if I alter the book in a way where creating a Horcrux does not entail murder, You-Know-Who won't kill anyone and therefore he won't actually end up creating any Horcruxes at all, but he'll think he has. So his timeline continues as it always had, just that he doesn't know he hasn't got eternal life.”

Severus thought for a moment. “But what does that mean for Harry Potter and the prophecy? Will he still be a target? Could he create an accidental Horcrux anyway?” And will Lily still die, he wondered desperately.

“Ah, well, that depends when we're planning to kill You-Know-Who in his timeline, doesn't it?” She smiled enigmatically at him then, like she knew something that he didn't.

Severus had to admit that she appeared to have it all figured out. But still, it seemed a little too convenient to him, this beautiful rebellious witch from the future claiming to have all the answers. Was she really all she seemed?

“I cannot help but wonder, what's in this for you?” Severus asked carefully as they plodded ever onwards.

“Apart from saving countless lives and stopping one of the most evil wizards the world's ever seen, you mean?” Delphi gave him a half smile as she tucked her vape back inside the pocket of her denim jacket.

Severus gave her a side eye in return. “Yes. Apart from that.”

“Aren't they good enough reasons?”

“In my experience, people's motives are rarely driven from pure altruism,” he answered wearily.

Delphi laughed, her melodious giggle a counteraction to Severus' suspicion. “Well, obviously I want you to fuck my brains out, but apart from that–”

Severus stopped sharply, suddenly on high alert, putting his arm out to block Delphi from walking any further and cutting her off from her explicit train of thought.

“You should stay here. There are wards in place way beyond the perimeter fence and it would be dangerous to go any further.”

He lowered his arm, seemingly oblivious to Delphi's previous comment. Delphi shook her head at his indifference and pulled out the Time-Turner from her vest, checking the little hour-glass by the dim light of Severus' wand. She watched the delicate stream of glowing sand trickling down from the nearly-empty upper chamber.

“I don't have long. I'll meet you back at Spinner's End in three hours.”

Severus checked his pocket watch, nodded curtly, and then strode off into the night.

Delphi watched his receding form with a sigh. Then after a moment she resolutely clutched the Time-Turner in her left hand and with the index finger on her right hand, wound the hour-glass three times. The air around her became fuzzy and began to crackle before she disappeared into thin air with a pop, leaving not a trace behind.