Time Paradox Revolution

By: PhoenixJustice

Disclaimer: Harry Potter is owned by J.K Rowling, Warner Bros. and others who are not me. I only own this story and make no profit from this.

Warning: Rated Mature for language, violence, sexual situations, slash, etc.

Pairings: eventual Sirius/Harry, Ron/Hermione, etc.

Setting: Post-DH in the beginning, with spoilers for the whole series. Then set pre Sorcerer's/Philosopher's Stone.

Summary: He had lived. The boy into the man. The future appeared pretty as a rose and hid its true self, its thorns, well. He had one chance; and so he gave up everything he had to change everything he knew.

: :: :

Chapter One - Broken

: :: :

July, 2017. The Ministry of Magic.

"I don't care what the reason was! You let them destroy the gem! Do you have any idea how valuable and rare a Blood Ruby is? That Potion Masters and Alchemists alike salivate at the mere mention of one?" The man roars, slamming his fist down onto the solid oak desk, spittle flying everywhere.

He holds back his irritation as best as he can, trying to keep from sighing aloud. He settles back into the chair.

"And as I've told you-several times now-" his deep voice says in exasperation. "I had a choice between stopping them from destroying it or saving fourteen lives."

"The lives of fourteen Muggles who may or may not have been in danger of being killed?" The older man says, sitting back in his chair. He combs a hand through his hair-what was left of it-and glares at the other man across from him.

He pushes his glasses back up his nose and sighs.

"I made a decision as Head Auror. We're here to save lives; the worth of one gem is not equal to people's lives. I don't care if it was created by the Founders or Merlin himself." His voice says, steel in it. He did not regret what he did, not any of it. "Or did you forget that you made an oath to serve and protect the people, Minister?"

The Minister of Magic, Filiun Johbrack. was a slightly pudgy man who was just starting to reach his older years. Wizards and Witches these days lived longer than ever, partly thanks to the Potions and such that had been discovered. Filiun was newly appointed-just a few months under his belt, but he surely made people think he'd been doing the job for ages.

He was a strict man who had little thought of Muggles, other than disdain probably. A Full Blooded Wizard, he prided himself on that fact and didn't exactly hide it. Or rather he didn't hide it until after he was elected. It was a damned shame that Kingsley had to step down from the position. If he hadn't gotten himself severely injured in the last battle at Edinburgh, then he'd be sitting across from him not would have the scar on his face where his right eye used to be for the rest of his life.

He himself hadn't thought that Kingsley would be impaired so badly he couldn't do his duties as Minister, but Kingsley had been pressured from the others around him and so he made the decision to step down.

Johbrack flinches as if he had been struck, then his expression turns to anger.

"How dare you speak to me that way? I don't care if you're Head Auror. I don't care if you are the-boy-who-lived. The chosen one.."

He grits his teeth and keeps himself from grabbing his wand and hexing the man in the face. He had to keep his cool. A hot head could mean the difference between life and death on the battlefield.

"You don't need to throw those titles back in my face." he says coolly. "Your newspaper is the one who put those monikers on me. I never asked for them."

Johbrack was the owner of the Daily Prophet for years, right up until he ran for Minister. He only stepped down because those in his circle said it would be a conflict of interest if the Minister of Magic also had that much authority over the newspapers. They were right.

The Minister starts to say something but he gets interrupted by a sudden beeping sound. Harry looks down at his watch. It was an unusual watch; instead of hands there were planets moving around it. He had bought it the moment he saw it in Diagon Alley. It reminded him so strongly of the former Headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore, that he had to have it. Though he hadn't expected to take as long as he had to learn how to read the damned thing.

"That was an alarm sent by my Second." Harry says, starting to stand. "I have to go."

"G-go!" The Minister sputters. "I am not done speaking to you!"

"Minister, it's important. My Second would not send me an alarm unless there was something bad going on. I have to go." he repeats.

The Minister wipes a bead of sweat off his brow with a folded hankerchief and grunts.

"Fine, fine. But we're not done yet." He warns. "I'll speak to you again soon, Potter."

Harry jerks his head in a short nod and leaves the Minister's office.

: :: :

"See, so you had to get down here. I know speaking with the Minister is important and all, but so is this." The grin on the man's face had to hurt it was so large. He wished he could still smile like that, so easily.

He looks down at the object in the other man's hands. It was a black photo of some kind, with some kind of blob on it. He couldn't really tell what it was.

"It's only about two months along; 'Mione didn't want me to tell anyone else till now, was afraid of how things would go. Not even Mum knows yet; going to tell her tonight."

"Oh. Oh wow, Ron. Congratulations." He manages to surprise himself and finds a wide smile for his best friend and Second in Command."I'm so happy for you two. It's been a long road for both of you, I know."

"Definitely." Ron laughs. He could laugh now, but it hadn't been easy for him, or for Hermione for that matter. They got married shortly after the battle at Hogwarts, where Riddle was taken down for the final time and everyone expected them to have six or seven kids within a few years like Mrs. Weasley had done, and as Fleur had done with Bill.

When they didn't have kids for a couple of years, no one really thought too much of it. After all, they were still very young. Hermione was a budding journalist and Ron was working his way through the Ministry, working to become an Auror, same as Harry was. With such a hectic schedule there didn't seem time for kids anyway. But when much more time had passed, when Ron had attained his Aurorhood and Hermione had decided to do much of her work from home, they decided to start a family.

A year passed, then more. Hermione would later learn that she had a syndrome that would make it almost impossible to have kids. After all, the wizarding world couldn't solve everything. There were steps they could take. Hermione went back to work to forget the pain and Ron devoted himself to becoming Second to Harry's Head Auror.

So to hear them finally pregnant was quite...unexpected to say the least. After all, the surrogacy had failed, as had trying adoption-with the ways things were now, Adoption was frozen so no one could adopt at the moment.

"I'm happy for you, Ron. Really." His smile becomes a little more strained this time.

Ron seems to notice the change in his best friend's behavior and frowns a bit.

"Harry..."

"Well, since you got me out of the Minister's clutches," he says, talking so the other man wouldn't. "Let's finish up these reports."

"Ugh. Why does it seem like we do more paperwork than our actual work. I'm going to file a complaint!"

"Go right ahead," Harry says, with a smirk. "But don't expect me to bail you out when the Minister fires off on you."

: :: :

"I'm home."

The silence of the house didn't surprise him. He merely shrugs, taking his cloak off and putting it on the coat rack. He walks into the living room on his left. Ginny was sitting in her chair, like usual, knitting something. He moves over to her chair, leaning down to kiss her on the cheek.

"Hey." he replies. "Sorry I'm late, got held up with some paperwork."

"Mmm."

He takes a seat in the chair closest to her, a small table seperating them.

"Yeah...so what are you knitting?"

She finally glances up at him, her brown eyes reflecting dully in the little bit of light in the room. He'd have to tell her to start using more light. It wasn't like money was an issue, after all; he made good money as Head Auror, not to mention the money he had left to him from his parents and Sirius...

"A sweater." she replies softly, looking back at her knitting. "For Ron and Hermione."

"Oh. That's nice. Yeah, I couldn't believe it when Ron said-"

"I need to finish dinner," she says abruptly, setting her knitting in her chair and walking towards the kitchen.

As soon as she is out of sight he lets out a sigh. He didn't bother saying that Kreacher would have gladly made dinner, as he had had enough of her looks and things she didn't say. If cooking made her happy, then more power to her.

He closes his eyes and he must have fallen asleep at some point because he jerks up abruptly, and sees that the lights in the living area were out. He stands, stretches slightly and heads towards the kitchen area where he still sees a light on. Ginny was seated at the table and he murmurs a greeting to Kreacher who was busy cleaning up some kind of mess on the stovetop. He holds back a sigh. She wanted to start cooking again, and to see her taking more initiative was a good thing so he didn't say anything.

"I tried a few new recipes...thought you might like..." she trails off.

Touched that she had tried this hard, he gives her a small, but warm, smile and sits down at the table and starts to eat. The meat was a bit bland and needed some salt, but all in all it wasn't that bad and just the fact that she was starting to do more things of her own volition was a pleasant surprise.

After a few minutes of clinking silverware and a usual silence for the house, Harry pushes his plate away and looks over at his wife. She was pale, unusually so (as she had been pale for as long as he could remember) and her brown eyes did not sparkle with that same sense of life he remembered in them, especially around his sixth year-her fifth-at Hogwarts, when she was much more open and in love with life in general. If only...

He clenches his jaw. No, there could be no 'if only' or 'what if's'. Things had happened and they couldn't be changed; and he loved his wife. They didn't have the perfect marriage, but then again who did?

"It's nice you're knitting them a sweater," he starts, getting back to what he was saying earlier. "I'll have to buy them something to match; I'd try and knit but I think they'd have my heads if I did. I still suck at it." He lets out a small laugh, slightly forced, but not entirely. He really was bad at knitting, even after Ginny, Hermione, Mrs. Weasley and even Fleur tried to teach him.

"Must be nice...they've been waiting a long time." she replies back softly. "A little baby..." Her eyes start to drift off.

"Ginny-"

"...ours would be about three now, wouldn't she Robert?"

He stiffens. She had fallen into another one of her episodes. She wasn't seeing him anymore.

"Ginny, I'm not Robert. I'm Harry. Your husband." he explains patiently.

She blinks a few times, confused, shaking her head.

"I already told you, Robert. I can't just up and leave him-he's been good to me. I have to take the time and explains things."

"Ginny!" he states again. "Look at me. I'm Harry!"

She starts to grab her head, too many things being fed to her at once. She wasn't as bad as she was in the beginning when...but she still wasn't well. He didn't like the idea of sending her to St. Mungo's though, so he had ignored the protests and brought her back home. He'd only send her there if there was no way of saving her from her problems. That and...he felt a responsibility to her. It was his fault that she was this way to begin with, so the least thing he could do was try and help her out of it.

His outburst seems to trigger her own and she stands, starting to scream. He catches Kreacher's eye and shakes his head minutely, a signal to let Harry take care of this on his own. He hurries out of his seat and around the side, grabbing her. She yells in protest.

"No! No! I told you I'm sorry-but I have to go!" she wails, fat tears starting to fall down her cheeks. "I'm...I'm with child. His child." She holds her stomach. "I never meant to hurt you, Harry. But you started staying later and later at work and..."

He pulls her hands away and looks her in the eyes. "Ginevra, you're not pregnant. And Robert is dead. He died in that Spell Duel, remember?" Yes, Robert Macray, Ginny's lover. He didn't know how long she had been seeing him, but she turned up pregnant and it happened during a time he was on an extended mission for the Ministry so there was no way it could be his. It devastated him.

He had never known a real family, growing up. The Dursleys had been utterly horrible to him. It wasn't till he got accepted to Hogwarts that he started be around better people. Ron, Hermione, the Weasleys and then Sirius...he had wanted that warm feeling of family that he hadn't known growing up and she had taken that from him.

They had gotten into a terrible row after she confessed her affair and Ginny, still arguing with Harry and not paying enough attention, had fallen down the stairs and landed horribly before Harry could even think of whipping out his wand to help her. She survived, barely, but the child had not. All the Magical and Muggle technology at the hospital's disposal wasn't enough to save both lives; they barely managed to save Ginny and after that, she hadn't ever been the same. He believed that the trigger was that, and the fact that her lover died the same day, in a Spell Duel he shouldn't have taken part in to begin with, as weak a wizard as he was.

She shudders and her eyes close, tears still falling down.

"I'm sorry, so sorry Harry. But I love him. I'm going to have his child and-"

He looks down at her with wet eyes and a heavy heart.

: :: :

"It had to be done." Ron replied. He didn't look happy but he didn't look pissed at Harry either. "She's been bad for awhile; I'm grateful you tried to help her this long, mate. But she needs more professional help than either of us are equipped for."

He nods slightly. He felt like a failure, but it had to be done.

"Right. I'm-going to take a breather, alright?" Harry says, standing up from his desk.

Ron's brows furrow but he nods at his best and oldest friend. "Yeah, go ahead. I've got it from here. S'only about half an hour or so left of paperwork; I can handle it."

For Ron, who hated paperwork about as much as he loathed spiders, it was a telling sign of their friendship. He manages a warm smile at the redhead.

"Thanks, Ron."

: :: :

He had no real destination in mind, just wandering where his feet took him. Thanks to him being Head Auror, he had access virtually anywhere in the Ministry at anytime. He sometimes wondered if that was also because of just who he was, but in times like this he couldn't find it in himself to really complain about the fame that came with being Harry Potter.

He comes to a halt and his eyebrows raise as he realizes that he was standing in the front of the Department of Mysteries, so named because it held the most mysterious objects, people and dealt with the most unusual things-unusual even for the magical world.

It was unusually silent around the area, even more so when he goes inside. He expected to see at least one Unspeakable but didn't even find that. He did find a large array of weird odds and ends that made him shake his head, the newest batch of Time-Turners, and a shrunken head that kept singing christmas carols at odd intervals.

He continues inside, passing through different passageways and narrowed hallways until he finally reaches a large open room. Only one thing was inside the room. Tall and wide, shimmering with what almost looked like starlight, was a Veil. The Veil.

He swallows against a sudden lump in his throat.

This was where his godfather, Sirius Black had died.

: :: :