[Scorpius had been about for a few days, trying to figure out what was going on and how to fix what had broken. It was looking rather dreadfully hopeless, and not having Albus along with him only made it feel even worse. It was an awful lot like that timeline with Voldemort as Minister for Magic, and in several ways, it was literally that, just-- with the most awful bits still being hidden instead of on flagrant display.

His head jerks up from his hands at the most wonderful fantastic amazing sound he's ever heard, and there's Albus, just standing there like everything's not gone horrible, and it actually sort of feels like it's not completely horrible now. Scorpius practically launches himself at his friend, suddenly beaming from ear to ear.] Albus! Oh thank Merlin, you're here! I mean, obviously it'd be preferable for neither of us to be here, because time's gone all wrong, and I really thought we were done with all that rot, but I suppose we're not, because here we are!

[It feels like a weight off his chest, just knowing he's not facing this alone again. He lowers his chatter to something less easy to overhear.] You've heard what's going on, right? No one knows how we got here, but it's not just us.