The Hogwarts library had always been quiet.
But never this quiet.
Dust floated lazily through the beams of sunlight streaming from the tall windows of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Rows upon rows of ancient books stretched endlessly across the massive hall.
And sitting in the middle of it all…
Albus Potter looked extremely bored.
He stared down at the giant stack of dusty books on the table.
"This is torture."
Across from him, Scorpius Malfoy carefully flipped through another ancient document.
"To be fair," Scorpius said calmly, "we almost destroyed the timeline."
Albus sighed.
"Yes."
"But do we really need to catalogue **every single book** written about time magic?"
Scorpius looked at the enormous pile.
"Apparently."
---
This was their punishment from Minerva McGonagall.
One month.
Working in the library.
Organizing magical records and historical documents.
"Look at it this way," Scorpius continued.
"At least we're not in prison."
Albus nodded.
"Fair point."
---
For the past three days, they had been sorting through the restricted archives.
Most of the records involved ancient magical theories about time travel.
Failed experiments.
Warnings written by long-dead wizards.
Scorpius held up a book.
"This one says time travel causes 'severe instability in magical reality.'"
Albus rolled his eyes.
"Yeah."
"We figured that out the hard way."
---
Another hour passed.
The two boys worked silently.
Sorting books.
Writing titles.
Recording magical classifications.
Then Scorpius stopped suddenly.
"Albus."
"What?"
"You might want to see this."
Albus looked up.
Scorpius had opened a thin black journal.
Its pages were filled with strange handwriting.
"What is it?"
Scorpius turned the book toward him.
"A Ministry investigation report."
Albus leaned closer.
On the first page was a name they both recognized.
Delphi.
Albus frowned.
"Why is her file in the Hogwarts library?"
Scorpius pointed at the date.
"This was written right after the war."
Albus blinked.
"The war?"
"The one against Lord Voldemort."
They read the report carefully.
The document described several secret investigations conducted by the Ministry after Voldemort's defeat.
Many of them focused on remaining followers.
Hidden allies.
And mysterious magical artifacts.
But one section caught Albus's attention.
He read the line slowly.
"Subject: Delphi."
"Background information unknown."
"Possible connection to remaining followers of Voldemort."
Scorpius frowned.
"That doesn't make sense."
"We know her background."
"She told us herself."
Albus nodded.
"Yes."
"She said she was Voldemort's daughter."
Scorpius tapped the page.
"But this report says the Ministry never confirmed that."
---
The two boys looked at each other.
Something about this felt strange.
Albus continued reading.
The next line made his stomach tighten.
"Subject vanished shortly after investigation began."
Scorpius blinked.
"Vanished?"
"That means they never caught her."
Albus slowly turned the page.
But the rest of the report was missing.
Several pages had been torn out.
Scorpius whispered,
"That's suspicious."
Albus nodded.
"Very."
---
Suddenly footsteps echoed through the library.
The boys quickly closed the journal.
The librarian passed between the shelves.
She glanced at them briefly.
Then continued walking.
When she was gone, Scorpius whispered,
"Okay."
"Let's think about this."
"If the Ministry never confirmed Delphi's identity…"
"And she disappeared…"
Albus finished the thought.
"Then someone might have been hiding the truth."
Scorpius leaned back in his chair.
"Which means…"
"Her story might not be over."
Albus stared at the journal again.
The adventure through time had ended.
Delphi had been captured in their timeline.
But this report suggested something different.
Something older.
Something hidden.
He closed the book slowly.
"I think there are still secrets we don't understand."
Scorpius sighed.
"Great."
"We save the timeline and still get a mystery."
Albus smiled slightly.
"Would it really be Hogwarts without one?"
---
Outside the library windows, evening shadows stretched across the castle grounds.
Students laughed in the courtyard.
Owls flew toward the towers.
Everything seemed peaceful.
But deep inside the Hogwarts archives…
A forgotten report had revealed something strange.
Something that hinted the past still held secrets.
And sometimes…
The past doesn't stay buried forever.
---