Harry flexed his fingers and looked up with an eerie grin. Hermione stood on his left while Ginny and Ron flanked his right.

"You're just making this fun for us!" called out Ron as the four shared one glance before sprinting off into the darkness of the Department of Mysteries. The four children - if they could even be called that - twisted and maneuvered swiftly as bright beams of light were thrown their way. They moved gracefully as if they were practicing a well rehearsed dance. They wore identical expressions of determination, the seriousness of the situation marred only by the smirks they wore on their mouths like badges of superiority.

In turn they threw spells back at their opponents; the stragglers of Death Eaters who remained had been nothing short of a pain in the quartet's asses. They paused when they reached the Space Chamber. They quieted, listening for sounds other than the slight whooshing as floating planets passed them by. Harry felt it before he saw it. A flash of green sparked the corner of his vision and he dived towards Ginny, toppling her to the floor. She gasped as the wind was knocked out of her. Harry scrambled to his feet, tugging on the hands of his girlfriend to lift her up.

"Sorry," he said, not giving her a moment to respond, giving her a swift kiss on the lips. The pair took off in the direction Hermione and Ron had after the criminal. Harry had always thought he'd had enough trouble for a lifetime. However, trouble and him seemed to go hand in hand. A calm, steady life was something that annoyed him. Fighting ran through his veins; it was in his blood. War thumped within each beat of his heart and an adrenaline rush never felt so good.

Harry arrived to find Ron and Hermione stopped in front of an open door.

"It's the Love room," explained Hermione in a meek tone. "It's never been opened before. It's supposed to be locked at all times… why is it open?"

"Why don't we go find out?" asked Ron, eyeing the room in curiosity.

"We don't know what's in there!" cried Hermione, crossing her arms and glaring at her boyfriend.

"Dumbledore mentioned that they were studying the self-sacrificing love that repelled the killing curse for me as well as something about a fountain of Amortentia," said Harry with a shrug. "Regardless, we still have to go in, Mine." Hermione glared at the use of the annoying nickname before sighing and nodding. Harry went first, followed by Ginny, Hermione, and Ron. They walked about fifteen paces into the room before the door behind them shut with a loud bang. They were ensconced within the darkness until Hermione illuminated the tip of her wand. The quartet shared equal looks of apprehension and worry.

"Look… over there," said Ginny, squinting at a small glow to the left of them. They all cautiously made their way to the glow. Ginny was gripping Harry's hand tight in hers. With a quick look over, Harry noticed that Hermione was holding Ron's hand in a similar fashion. They approached the glowing object which was nothing but a jar filled with fireflies.

"Uh, I actually have no words for this," said Ron, quirking an eyebrow at the jar.

"Why do you think it's here?" asked Ginny. Hermione bit her lip with an expression that made the rest of them worry: confusion.

"I don't… know," she admitted.

"This is how we die." stated Ron firmly, his lips twitching and betraying his serious expression. Ginny slapped her brother's arm.

"Shut up, Ron! Don't say something like that," she reprimanded, putting her hand that wasn't intertwined with Harry's on her hips.

"I have been awaiting your arrival," whispered a faint feminine voice from in front of them. "And the first thing you do is argue. In the love room of all places." The glow of the fireflies grew brighter. The group of teenagers took a wary step back. The lid exploded open and they all whipped out their wands as the fireflies began swarming around. Suddenly they flew down to the floor. Quite literally rising from the ground was a woman. At least, everyone thought it was a woman. Her features were ever changing. Her eyes, nose, mouth, cheekbones, hair, hands… everything.

"Who are you?" questioned Ginny, being the first to recover from shock.

"I go by many names. The Greeks called me Aphrodite, the Romans called me Venus, the Albanians called me Prende, but to avoid long discussions that require time none of us quite have, I am simply Love."

The quartet stared in shock.

"You're shitting me? Love?" asked Ron in surprise. Hermione looked at her boyfriend in annoyance.

"Ron! How can you talk to her like that!?"

"I understand your disbelief, Ronald Weasley. I imagine I would feel the same way if the situations were reversed," she said kindly.

"Erm, Miss… Love?" tried Hermione looking rather shy. "You said you were waiting for us? What… what exactly do you mean by that?" The woman turned to Hermione and seemed to smile.

"In this world, you experienced a myriad of adventures, have you not? You have all done wonderful things, especially you, Harry Potter, savior of the wizarding world." She turned her imposing gaze upon Harry who flushed slightly.

"Thanks… but it wasn't really me alone. I mean I had help and - " She held a hand and cut him off.

"Accept my compliments when given, Harry Potter. I don't dole them out often." Harry swallowed and nodded. "However, you have all lost a great deal. Family… friends…" she trailed off and the four of them looked downcast, each thinking of all the lives that had been lost in the unnecessary war.

"I can change it all." Harry looked up so fast he wondered if he could have gotten whiplash. "Far from this world lies another. In this world that is parallel to yours, Lord Voldemort is reigning supreme. In this world, Harry Potter, your parents are still alive. Everyone you have ever mourned is still alive."

She paused and Harry could hear his heartbeat in his ears. What did that mean? This woman - Love - wanted to send him to another dimension where his parents were alive?

"You have the possibility of staying here, Harry Potter. You can catch the last wayward Death Eater, then grow old with peace by your side. However, even at 19 years old, you are but a hatchling. I see it within you, boy-who-lived. Fire runs in your veins… in all of your veins," she said, looking over each of them carefully. "This world is dying and it needs the four of you to help it. Only you have the power to defeat Lord Voldemort, Harry Potter. You and only you wield that power."

"Let's do it," said Ginny suddenly. Harry looked at her with a slack expression.

"Gin are you… are you mad? How can we just leave everything behind?!" asked Harry.

"It's your parents, Harry James Potter. Don't tell me you don't want the chance to be with them?" she said narrowing her eyes at him. Harry frowned. Did he want to go through it all again? Harry recalled every single bit of angst and anger and disappointment and fear and hurt he had felt in his past. Now he had a chance to fix it all. Sure, they were all jaded by the war, but they could fix it. Right? They could take peace and calm. Harry thought of this other world. It would be different - so different. The people there would be different. Harry wasn't sure if he could respond to a different version of the people he'd grown to love and call family. Harry thought of Mrs. Weasley and her beaming face every time Harry came over for dinner. Harry thought of Minister Kingsley Shacklebolt and his nod of respect every time Harry walked through the Ministry. Harry thought of little two year old Teddy Lupin who looked at Harry as though he were the most interesting guy in the whole world.

No. Harry wouldn't give any of it up. He looked up defiantly at Love before shaking his head.

"I must regretfully decline. I quite like my life the way it is now, including the people in it," said Harry, giving Ginny a gentle squeeze of his hand. She smiled at him and returned the squeeze.

"I was quite hoping that would not be your answer, Harry Potter," Love responded despondently. "Unfortunately, this just means I have to send you without your consent." Harry felt his eyes widen in fear as she began to melt again. The quartet didn't need to tell one another to run before they did just that. They took off back in the direction of the door. The ground beneath them rumbled forebodingly. It cracked open and Harry managed to pull Ginny closer to him. She squeaked as she narrowly avoided falling into the dark depths. Their loud pants echoed throughout the room that was slowly collapsing on itself. Harry didn't dare turn around to look at what happened to Love.

"The door won't open!" cried Ron as he tugged on the handle. Hermione pointed her wand to it and tried a variety of spells without success. Ginny had even attempted to blow it up - to no avail. Just before anything could be said, a crack in the floor headed up to them. Ron, without hesitation, pushed Hermione into Ginny who fell into Harry, forcing himself to fall into the crack. Ginny called out after her brother and Hermione let out a loud scream. Unable to stop her in her grief filled state, Hermione scrambled to her knees and tumbled after Ron. Ginny buried her face into Harry's chest who stared at the gaping floor.

Hermione and Ron.

Hermione and Ron.

They were his only pillars of strength in his life - his two constants that stood by him no matter what. Gone. The ground continued to shake and rumble. Harry merely clutched Ginny tighter.

"Harry, I love you," she muttered, pulling his face down to hers as she anxiously pressed her lips against his. Her cheeks were wet with tear tracks.

"I love you, Ginny," he replied, cupping her cheek and wiping away a tear with a gentle brush of his thumb. Ginny pressed her face into his shoulder and he buried his own face into her hair. The smell of strawberries tided him over as the pair of them felt the ground beneath their bodies loosen.

And so, they fell.


Harry's eyes fluttered open. His gaze wavered slightly before he could focus his eyes. He licked his lips, vaguely recognizing that his throat was dry and that he really wanted a cup of water. He managed - with great effort - to sit up. He realized he was sitting in a rather nice backyard. Well, it looked nice from Harry's view. He noticed the ground around him was rather destroyed. He heard a flurry of movement. With a feeling of panic, he grabbed his wand and pushed himself to his feet. He teetered back and forth on his feet and his vision kept coming and going.

"Who the hell are you and what do you think you're doing on my property?" asked a rough female voice. A wand was pressed against his throat. Harry blinked.

"H-Harry P-Po-Potter," was all he managed to force out. Harry knew that every witch and wizard knew his name, so he was rather surprised when the wand was pressed deeper into his throat. He swatted at it and stumbled back. "What the fu-" was all he managed to get out before his eyes finally focused once and for all. He looked at the person who'd held their wand at him. His eyes widened and his mouth fell open as he managed to whisper, "Mum?" before promptly passing out.