In The Shard Vault, Nova had come down for dinner.
It shimmered faintly with enchantments. You couldn't even see it unless you were invited in.
Nova blinked up at it."This looks like something out of a dream."
Alicia gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "That's the point. Seamus said no one would find you here unless you wanted them to."
Fred gave a quiet nod, eyes scanning the horizon. "No weird time-warp vibes. Good."
Luna, who'd been twirling a crystal charm, added, "Seven enchantments, four memory wards protect it, and at least one Crumple-Horned Snorkack—or so I was told."
Ginny raised an eyebrow. "Was that last one a joke?"
Luna grinned. "Depends on how serious you are about Snorkacks."
Everyone laughed, then Ginny spoke up,
"Come on, let's get you to bed." She said to Nova.
After they went upstairs, the others entered her room.
"We have to tell you something, cookie," Alicia said.
They all sat on small purple cushions on her floor. Fred began to recite the dream he had shared with Al, Lily, and Hugo in the Hogwarts library.
The silence after Fred's dream revelation hangs like mist in the air. Nova is sitting cross-legged on a velvety cushion, her brows furrowed, processing everything.
"So… I'm the Protector. Chosen by some goddess in a dream because my parents... broke time?"
"Yeah, pretty much. Not your average bedtime story, huh?" Fred said softly.
"It's not just a story anymore. The moment you walked into that vault… something shifted. Magic responded. You felt it, right?" Alicia asks her calmly.
Nova nods slowly, eyes flicking to the glowing veins in the stone walls pulsing faintly with blue light.
"These stones remember, you know. The Vault isn't just a safehouse. It's a whisperer. It holds echoes of the past, shadows of time... and sometimes, secrets that even Divination can't reach." Luna said, pacing around the room and twisting her wand.
"Just don't ask it to whisper bedtime lullabies. Last time I did, it nearly screamed." George says, trying to lighten the mood.
Nova chuckles—barely."So… what now?" She asks, "I stay locked in here while everyone else figures out what to do?"
"No, baby." Ginny says, "This is your time too. You're not locked up—you're being shielded. It's a difference. And soon, we're going to teach you to use that magic inside you. All of it."
"And until then, you've got us. Auntie Angie's daily Quidditch drills. Uncle George's absolutely terrible jokes.Dad's terrible bedtime stories. Mum's strict rules—" Angelina said, but was cut off by Alicia.
"Excuse me?" Alicia says, and everyone bursts out laughing
"You're not alone. This Vault might be ancient and mysterious, but it's your training ground now. It chose you the second your magic woke up. And we're going to help you learn how to survive whatever's coming." Fred says, putting a comforting hand on her.
Nova bites her lip. She's scared. But somehow… with all of them here, and the walls gently pulsing with the same rhythm as her own heartbeat, she doesn't feel so alone.
"Okay. Let's do this. But can someone please tell me what the Devil of Time even is?"
The group looks at each other.
"Well… that's where it gets complicated…" Luna said after she finally stopped pacing around and sat down.
"So… what is the Devil of Timel?" She asked again.
The laughter fades. A deep stillness fills the chamber. The blue lights dim slightly, as if even the Vault knows the answer isn't an easy one.
"She's not a devil in the way we think of demons or beasts. She's… a wound." Luna says, her voice is not dreamy anymore.
Nova blinks.
"…A wound?"
"That's how the Unspeakables described her. She's a rip in time that became aware of itself. A spirit, a curse, a being—no one knows exactly. She was born the moment someone tried to twist time too far." Fred says.
"The prophecy never named her. Just said that a shadow would rise from the broken timeline. That shadow… started appearing in people's dreams. Whispers. Nightmares. Visions." Alicia says, looking at the ceiling.
"And Seamus was the first to truly believe it was more than just dreams. He saw her." Ginny says, gently brushing her hair with her fingers.
"He saw her?" Nova asks in shock
"He said she had golden-brown hair. Silver eyes. But she wasn't… you. She was empty. Like a ghost of someone who could've been real but never got to live."
"She doesn't live in one moment. She feeds on what should've been. On lost futures. Regrets. That's why she's dangerous, Nova. She can twist time not to change it—but to unmake it. One memory at a time." Angelina said, staring out of the window at the night sky.
Nova's heart is thudding now,
"She's been in my dreams, hasn't she? The backwards clocks… the fog… the voices calling me by names I don't remember…"
"That's her testing you. Trying to see if you'll break. But you won't." Fred said gripping her shoulder gently.
"She fears you. You're the one part of the timeline she can't erase. Because you weren't supposed to exist. And yet… you do." George says
"She's searching for the cracks. And the moment you doubt who you are… she'll widen those cracks. That's why we brought you here." Alicia says.
"To stop her?" Nova says in a whisper.
Ginny denies,"To remember who you are. So she can't make you forget."
There's a long silence again. Then Nova, looking up at them all with fire in her eyes, says:
"Then we train. We figure out who I am. And we end her."
Fred grins."That's my girl."
Back at Hogwarts, the halls echoed once again with laughter, spells, and the scratch of quills—school had resumed. Professors were back to teaching, and students were catching up on everything they'd missed during the chaos. But for Rose Weasley and James Potter, nothing was normal.
Every night, dreams clawed at their minds. Not just of Minerva anymore—but now Daisy too. They saw glimpses: snowy forests, shadowed figures whispering through time, and a familiar red-haired girl reaching out, only to vanish.
As Christmas approached, most students packed for the holidays. This year, the Shard Vault opened its doors once again—not just as a sanctuary but a place for healing and answers. Nova was already there, under the watch of Alicia, Fred, Angelina, George, Ginny, and Luna. They'd taken her there for safety, for warmth, and maybe... for truth.
The others joined them—Lily, Hugo, Louis, and even some of the adults—for a quieter Christmas celebration among ancient magic and secrets wrapped in enchanted snow. There was laughter, hot cocoa, and stories by the fire, but behind every smile was an unspoken question: What was still to come?
Meanwhile, Albus, Rose, and James stayed back at Hogwarts, their holiday buried in books and parchment. OWLs and NEWTs waited for no prophecy. Still, the dreams didn't stop. If anything, they became louder. More urgent.
Something—or someone—was calling.
The fire crackled in the hearth, casting golden shadows across stacks of parchment, textbooks, and half-eaten mince pies. Outside, snow tapped gently against the windows, but inside, the silence was broken only by the furious scribbling of quills and the occasional groan.
James flopped face-first into his Transfiguration notes.
"I swear to Merlin, if McGonagall puts another Animagus question on the exam, I'm turning into a ferret and fleeing the country."
"You couldn't turn into a ferret if the entire Wizengamot begged you to. You'd end up as a semi-hairy teacup." Rose said without looking up from her potions notes.
"Honestly, I'd take being a teacup right now. At least then I wouldn't have to revise twelve chapters of Potions theory." Albus said calmly, flipping a page.
"You two are insane. It's Christmas. Normal people are drinking butterbeer and playing Exploding Snap. Why are we doing this to ourselves?" James said, throwing an owl treat at a school owl who had come in through the window. It caught the treat and went away.
"Because OWLs and NEWTs determine our entire future. You want to end up like Dad's cousin Marvin? The one who forgot to write his Astronomy paper and now breeds magical moss?" Rose said
"Moss isn't a terrible career path," Albus said, shrugging
"It screams ambition," Rose said with a deadpan stare
James stared at the fireplace, eyes flickering with the flames.
"I keep dreaming about them. Minerva. Daisy. It's like… they're trying to reach out, but I don't know what they want."
"Same. Every night. And every time I wake up, I feel like we're running out of time. Like we should be doing something."Rose said softly
"But what can we do? We're stuck here. Studying. Preparing. Like good little Hogwarts students." Albus sighed
A silence fell. The kind that held weight. Not uncomfortable—but loaded, like the pause between lightning and thunder.
"Well. At least when the world ends, I'll die with an Outstanding in Transfiguration." James said with a grin
"Assuming you manage to spell Metamorphomagus right this time." Rose said with a smirk
"Low blow, Rosie," James said.
The three of them burst into tired laughter. For a moment, the weight lifted. Just three teens, surrounded by snow, stars, and a war they didn't yet understand—but would soon face head-on