Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. I wish.
Chapter One: The End of a Beginning
"Harry, there is no other choice," Ginny whispered softly as she squeezed his hand with all her remaining strength.
"I love you."
Then she drew her last breath and her beautiful blue eyes went dim.
A spectacular pain pierced Harry's heart as he realized his wife was dead. For the last time, he stroke her lovely red hair and closed her eyes shut.
"I love you, too," he told her, his face wet with tears. He got up slowly and forced his shaking legs to carry him outside.
Walking through the abandoned house made him tremble with nausea. The kitchen walls were sprayed with blood and the roof of the living room had collapsed. In the hall was Hermione's lifeless body, still holding onto her wand. Ron was only a few feet away, his right leg twisted in an awkward angle and his face dirty with sticky red liquid. Harry carefully stepped around his friends, feeling dazed. Everything had happened so fast that he felt as though this was all a dream that he would soon wake up from. His mind tried to convince himself that this was only a terrifying nightmare that would soon be over. He could already hear Ginny's voice calling to wake him up and he could almost smell the familiar aroma of fresh pancakes that used to greet him every morning. But this was far from a dream; it was malicious reality making sure that nothing would ever be the same again for Harry Potter.
He remembered how his whole beloved family had been alive and laughing only a few hours ago. Ginny had been yelling at little James for making Albus and Hugo cry. Lily had been baking cookies with Rose in the kitchen. Ron and Hermione had been talking about their journeys at Hogwarts with him. They had come to visit for some reason… oh, yeah, today was his birthday…
The stairs leading to the second level were wrecked and no longer possible to climb. Even if they had been available for use, he refused to face his small children lying dead on the floor with their tiny bodies crushed and motionless. Never again would they run into his arms…
Remorse was Harry's only companion as he made his way through the front door and onto the quiet street. The trees swayed to the rhythm of the gentle July wind and everything seemed at peace as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. For the final time, Harry glanced back at his house then before he could start breaking down, left, leaving behind countless heartrending memories of his home.
Ignoring the cutting throbs inside, Harry apparated as soon as he reached the end of the street. He reappeared in front of a big, red house and knocked on the door.
A middle-aged man with flaming red hair and beard answered. His wary face broke into a surprised smile.
"Harry! This is a surprise!"
"Evening, George."
"Come in, come in."
Harry entered calmly. George Weasley led him to the living room where they both sat down, facing each other.
"Tea, Harry?" he asked.
Harry shook his head. "No, thank you." He looked around and saw that the house was empty. "Where are Angelina and Fred?"
"Out shopping. Fred needed new robes before school and Angelina might be away the whole time in August. She has business on the other side of the world," he explained. "But if they knew you were visiting…"
Harry smiled although it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Tell them I miss them for me."
"Sure," the Weasley twin agreed. "So, what brings you here today, Harry?"
Yes, right to the point. Ever since his twin's death, George had lost his sense of humor. He had eventually gone on with his life but he was never the same person again, a dark shadow always lingering on his face. Harry knew perfectly how he felt.
"My house was raided today," he said emotionlessly. George's eyes went wide. Harry found it difficult to look at those blue eyes that reminded him of his deceased wife. "I was the only survivor."
The redhead was speechless.
"You need to help me, George," Harry began to plead, his green eyes no longer holding back the tears. George just stared blankly back, obviously in shock.
"George, please. I need them back," he whispered, each word entrenched with agony.
Something flickered inside George's head and he looked at Harry with apprehension. Then he shook his head. "No, Harry. You can't."
"I have to. I can't live on without them, George," Harry cried and he realized how weak he sounded. But it was the absolute truth and he wasn't ashamed of it.
"Harry, I've wasted ten years creating that spell. It was useless and stupid, I must have been insane with depression then… I just couldn't stand that he wasn't here anymore…" George muttered, his eyes staring at the floor.
Harry knew that his brother-in-law had made an incredible spell for his brother, Fred. After ten years of solitude, he had succeeded in making something that could possibly bring his twin back. However, something had gone wrong and Fred was still as dead as before.
"I know about the sacrifice," Harry pressed firmly. George looked at him sadly.
He sighed. "I thought the same thing before, Harry. You think you can make that sacrifice now but when the time comes, you really can't. You won't let yourself. Trust me."
"Please, give me a chance. It's worth a try," he persisted. George sighed again.
"Alright," he said after a moment of thought. "But you realize that the sacrifice has to be equal to your loss, yes? It only works then. What are you willing to give up?"
Without hesitating, Harry replied, "My parents."
The Weasley nodded as if he had expected the answer. "I chose the same."
He got up and took his wand out. "If you're really gonna do this, Harry…"
Harry nodded quickly.
"Alright," George said warily. "Now choose a memory of your parents…"
Closing his eyes, he thought of the one clear memory of his parents… a memory which in fact was not his own…
"…okay, now think of what form you want to enter that world as…"
He hadn't been anticipating this task. Quickly, he tried to remember how he had looked as a fifth year student at Hogwarts.
"Are you sure about this, Harry?"
"George," he replied without opening his eyes.
"Okay, okay. If you're ready, I'm going to say the spell. Just to warn you, this can cause quite a headache."
"Thanks for the warning."
"No problem. Okay, I'm really gonna say it now."
"Okay." A bead of sweat rolled down Harry's forehead.
"Devoveo sacrificum."
Nothing happened for a moment and Harry wondered if the spell had failed. Maybe George was messing with him. Maybe there was no way to bring back his family and friends.
Then came the spinning.
It seemed as if he was spinning and spinning nonstop for hours. His mind swam and his past memories flashed before his eyes: Everyone is dead. Rose is born. He marries Ginny. He defeats Voldemort. Dumbledore dies.
Suddenly, he heard George's voice calling out to him.
"Remember that many things can go wrong when you're messing with time. Keep in mind that if your parents do not have you because they die too early or simply because they choose not to get married, then you will cease to exist."
Harry could have smacked himself on the head. He chose fifth year at Hogwarts! That meant that there was a long way to go before his parents would have their only child—him.
A child who was willing to sacrifice his parents and their love in the past in order to save his own family and friends in the present…
Nice of George to tell this vital piece of information to him now…
"Good luck, Harry." The voice faded away.
The spinning seemed to slow until finally it was over. Before he could open his eyes, Harry hurled.
After throwing up, he looked around him. He couldn't believe it. He was on Hogwarts ground, near the lake. He stared at his reflection in the water and gasped in awe. His face was much younger and his frame much smaller. This must have been before he reached his growth spurt.
"Snivellus!" someone cried. Harry's stomach did a back flip as he recognized the voice.
No one had yet noticed his sudden appearance. They were too absorbed with James and Sirius picking on Snape.
"No way," Harry murmured, wonder in his voice. Even his tone was a few pitches higher.
"Leave him alone!" The young and lovely Lily Evans arrived and Snape spat the unforgiveable word at her.
"Mudblood." Harry had almost memorized word for word of what had happened, like a movie he had seen too many times. He watched his mother storm away with her group of friends.
Could this be real? Or was this just another memory?
His question was answered when the crowd cheered as James Potter revealed what was underneath Severus Snape's underpants. Nothing faded out or dissolved. Harry began to smile in excitement then stopped as he remembered why he was here.
Then he wondered how the heck he was going to explain to the teachers about his unexpected appearance.
That's it for the first chapter of my first Harry Potter fanfic! Hope it's okay -_- I know that there's probably lots of mistakes so please feel free to point them out! Please review, they really help :)
Btw, if the story is very vague, I'm planning to explain in later chapters. I'm still new at this stuff so help me out by giving me plot ideas! Thank you :)