A WRINKLE IN TIME

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to J.K. Rowling, I am just borrowing them for my story and hopefully others.

Ginny sighed as her husband grunted the last of his release and promptly collapse beside her breathing raggedly. At one point she had been proud to consider herself a screamer but she hadn't been doing much screaming for a long time. Today was no different, and that had nothing to do with the fact that her sixteen-year-old daughter had comeback from Hogwarts or the presence of her three sons. She had mostly been quiet throughout the intimate action with a few quiet encouragements here and there.

Oh how the mighty have fallen.

She chuckled quietly to herself and her husband who had been drifting off to sleep frowned at her.

"You are not laughing at my performance are you?"

Ginny turned on her side to look at him. "That was quite the…performance you put up today, more than you always put on."

"But you weren't satisfied as usual." He said with despondent sigh.

Self-confidence.

He always had issues with it. One of the many things they had in common.

"It is not your fault sweetie." She assured him. "Any woman would have been more than satisfied, it is me that is damaged."

"You are not damaged." He assured her fiercely. "You are my spit-fire; you hear me?"

Fiery spit-fire.

He used to call her that, where he got it from, she never found out. Chuckling slightly, she kissed him on the lips and massaged his neck. Soon enough, he was snoring lightly. She slid out of the bed carefully so she wouldn't disturb him. He was a very light sleeper, another thing he shared with him though for him it had been because of nightmares that had haunted him since he was one. She slid on her emerald panties and her husband's quidditch jersey then went down stairs to grab a cup of chocolate.

A wolf howled in the distance and she gave a prayer to Remus Lupin and his wife Nymphadora Tonks. She chuckled again to herself as she imagined the woman's reaction if she were to hear her addressing her by the taboo name even in her mind. She reached the kitchens to find her daughter seated on top of the table sipping from her mug of coffee. The girl was very beautiful. Her red hair was darker than Ginny's, longer and silky even without applying anything. She had never bothered to comb it as it seemed to arrange itself automatically.

Just like her grandmother's

She was tall, taller than Ginny, her body athletic due to her quidditch. She had a figure that many older girls, even Ginny herself envied her for. Long toned legs that seemed to go on forever and her inherited Weasley. She looked more like an eighteen-year-old nearing nineteen.

As if sensing her entrance, the girl turned her neck and vibrant almond shaped emeralds, innocent emeralds regarded her. She hadn't seen much in her life. The emeralds didn't see a professor die before them, nor a wannabe dark lord possess a friend's sister. This girl had not fought a giant snake, a horde of Dementors, witnessed a friend's death, resurrection of a dark lord. This girl had not fought a war, she was pure, innocent. Exactly what her father had wished for when he was fighting, his children to grow up without fear of a dark lord jumping out of every shadow he came across.

"Mom, you are alright?" Ginny realized that she had been standing in the door-way for some time and she gave her daughter a smile.

"I am fine Rose, what are you doing here?" she asked as she entered and started making herself a cup of chocolate.

"Drinking chocolate." Rose answered simply and Ginny rolled her eyes.

"I can see that. I mean why are you in the kitchen drinking chocolate in the middle of the night?"

"Can't sleep. Andrew snores like a hippogriff in heat."

Ginny chuckled. Her eldest son, at fourteen looked like a mini-version of her brother Ronald. Appetite, sense of humor and snoring included. Thinking of her brother brought a knot in her stomach. She remembered vividly that day when he brought her the news. They had been on a raid on a werewolf settlement in Wales that was intent on depopulating the country. Things had gone wrong and out of the whole squad, only Ron had managed to escape with his life. While he wasn't a complete werewolf, Ron was to contend with scars for the rest of his life just like Bill.

"Yeah, Andrew is intent on channeling Ron in almost anything." Ginny agreed as she took a seat on a chair across her daughter. "At least Simon and Nick seem like the very opposite."

"Thank Merlin for that." Rose agreed as she took a gulp from her cold chocolate.

The two sat in silence and listened to the sound of the storm outside. There would be an occasional roar or howl and the two would shiver almost in sync and quietly send to prayers to Remus and Tonks. Rose had picked the habit from Ginny who told her daughter that they were some of the most important people in both their lives. She had been five then, she had never stopped even though she didn't understand just how important those had been in her life as Rose in particular.

"So, how was the school year?" her daughter had been back for two weeks but she hadn't talked about anything concerning the year. That was very unusual as she usually came and almost narrated the whole year and at the end, she would ask her mom to narrate her own corresponding year for comparison. Last year had been very fun as she told her daughter about the tri-wizard tournament before she had gone back for her fifth year.

"It was just the usual, nothing extraordinally." Rose said with a shrug. Very convincingly too. Ginny would have even believed her had she not grown with the people she grew up with. Rose was very good at hiding her emotions and only those who knew where to find them could read them almost like an open book.

Just like him.

"Something is bothering you." Ginny stated. She was one of those few who could read her like an open book. Not because she knew her daughter so much but because of her similarities with him.

Rose was quiet. She didn't seem to be surprised that Ginny had seen through her. It happened all the time.

"I have been having dreams." She said quietly. Ginny looked up with a smile.

"About a boy? I think the talk I gave you…" Ginny trailed off seeing the lost look on her daughter's face instead of the blush she had been expecting. "…Rose, what kind of dreams."

"I…I don't know mom." She answered as her beautiful green eyes started tearing up. "I feel like I am going crazy mum, nothing makes sense."

Ginny stood up and engulfed her daughter in a hug as she started crying. "You are not crazy sweetie, now why don't you relax and tell me everything. We wouldn't want a repeat of my first year at Hogwarts now would we?"

She had told her everything that happened in her first year. Riddle, the Diary, how she was used and then being saved. She had felt used then, damaged and weak.

He had told her she wasn't. That she was his fiery spit-fire.

"It feels real mom." Rose said quietly. "It is like I am living another person's life. But they are so horrible, they beat me, abuse me, leave me alone for weeks without a single meal other than water."

"Who?"

"The muggles." Ginny felt her heart freeze. "And I live in a freaking cupboard of all things. Do you know what is worse...?" Ginny was no longer listening. "They call me Freak and it all feels so real. I am scared mom."

Ginny automatically pulled her closer. She was simply operating on auto-pilot at this moment.

"What has got me scared though is the fact despite fearing what I would see in the dreams…" her daughter was saying. "…I still go to bed in anticipation. I look forward to the dreams because despite all the pain and suffering, I feel whole, mom. Like something I haven't had for the whole of my life dwells in those dreams."

Ginny felt something tearing at her soul as she knew the truth in those words. If her suspicions were correct, then something her daughter didn't have did indeed dwell in those dreams. She opened her mouth and asked what she was dreading to hear.

"The muggles… what are their names?"

"Dursleys." Rose spat the name like it was smelling in her mouth. "I call them aunt and uncle."

Ginny took a deep breath. She had hoped to tell her when she was much older. Hopefully never but if her daughter was having these dreams, then she would find out the truth anyway and it was better if she found out from Ginny's perspective.

"I have no idea how this is possible dear or why but I assure you, you're not crazy." Ginny said quietly.

"So I live two lives? Alternate universes or something?" Rose asked in confusion and Ginny shook her head.

"No, because that life in your dreams is not yours. It is for another boy."

"But mom it feels so real. And why on earth would I be dreaming about some random boy's life?"

"Because he is not some random boy." She took a breath. "He is your father."

Rose pulled from the hug and regarded her mom for a few seconds.

"But dad is a pureblood, why would he live with muggles?" it was a simple question out of curiosity but Rose had no idea just how much that simple question would change her life forever.

"Danny isn't your real father, I married him when you were one and a half years old." She answered not meeting her daughter's searching green eyes. "I…divorced with your father because of…some reason and then I married Danny."

"But why hasn't he ever tried to meet me or visit me?" the girl asked in a small voice. "Does he hate me…am I the reason why you divorced?"

"NO…I mean no he doesn't hate you and you are not the reason. I am sure he loves you with the whole of his being despite everything that happened." Ginny assured the girl because that was something she wasn't entirely sure of. "It's just that he can't visit you. He…he is…dead."

"Oh…I…I see."

There was silence in the room.

"He was a great man. I betrayed his trust and cheated on him with Danny. When he found out, I acted very fast and accused him of a lot of things, made him divorce with the condition that he would never talk to you unless you seek him out and at his death everything would belong to you. He didn't even fight. He just signed everything and threw himself in his work. He hunted down dark wizards until fifteen years ago, on a raid against werewolves he was killed along with his squad. Only Ron survived."

Ginny finished her monologue and looked at her daughter who was regarding her with an empty look in her eyes. She had last seen identical green eyes with that same look after fifth year.

"What…what is his name?"

"Harry Potter." Ginny answered simply. A lone tear dropped from her eye as her daughter walked out of the kitchen. She knew it would take a long time before she was forgiven. Had she been the one in Rose' place she would never have forgiven her mother. But Rose was like Harry, she would forgive her.