A/N: Sorry for my long delay! A huge thank-you to CaseyLove for being the only reviewer, and to whom this chapter is dedicated. Okay. On with the story!

The three quickly recovered from their shock. Hermione brought Cate a glass of water she nicked from the kitchen and tried to calm her down.

"So, there's absolutely no way it'll work, just once more?" Ron asked for the umpteenth time.

"No, Ron, the answer to the bleeding question won't change, no matter how many times you ask!"

"Well, I'm so sorry, Miss Personality!"

"Excuse me, what did you just call me?"

Harry automatically tuned them out from years of practice. He honestly wasn't that torn up. He still wanted to see his kids. Come to think of it, why weren't his kids here, and where was Ginny? Or his own future self? He was absolutely dying to know of his children, and what become of him.

He probably became an Auror. Yeah. And lived happily after with his amazing, brilliant wife and kids and friends. Family, he corrected himself. They were all his family. What he wished most for, more than anything in the world. He had it. He had them.

Carefully, he trod over sleeping bags and sheets to where Cate was trying to calm herself. She was shaking uncontrollably. Even as he approached her, the glass slipped out of her hands and crashed to the floor in a million pieces.

Ron and Hermione stopped arguing and looked over. Harry looked over and mouthed "What happened to her?" But Harry was answered by looks of complete shock and amazement. He turned back to Cate and nearly fell over himself.

Cate's hair was rapidly becoming gray and her face was crumpling. She was rocking back and forth, cradling her head in her hands.

Hermione took a tentative step forward and put a gentle hand on cate's shoulder. Cate jumped back as though the contact burned her.

"Stop. Please, please stop."

"O—Okay. Wh—what's wrong?"

"I'm aging." They could hear her breathing become shallow. "I'm the goddess of magic, so whenever magic—"

"Goes wrong, it affects you in the form of time." Hermione finished. "Oh, Merlin, you—you don't have too much time."

Cate helplessly shook her head. "You've got until tomorrow at the most before you vanish from existence forever and the world will fall…" she rasped.

Hermione choked back a sob. She wordlessly offered her palm to the goddess. Cate nodded and lay back, closing her eyes. Hermione placed her hand on Cate's forehead, and a strange, eerie blue glow appeared.

When it subsided, Hermione pulled back her arm, stared at it for exactly two seconds, and burst into tears. Ron, who had up until this point being sharing a bewildered look with Harry, rushed forward and comforted her. Or attempted to, anyway.

"Hey, Hermione, um, what was that?"

Sob, Sob, Sob.

"Um, Mione? Please tell me that was safe."

Sob, Sob, Hiccup.

"Hermione Jean Granger, will you please for the love of Merlin answer me and tell me what the bloody hell is the matter!"

SMACK.

"I—I offered to host a part of Cate until the magic of the wardrobe is repaired and we can go back."

"WHAT?"

"Yeah, its—the only way she'll stay alive…" Hermione started positively howling. She leaned into Ron and he wrapped an arm around her.

"That was brave." Her whispered into her hair. Though he didn't think she heard him, she did.

"Thank you." She whispered back. "But it hurts."

Harry tried to ignore their "moment" and turned back to the cupboard, fiddling with it. He turned the knob and entered it cautiously.

Suddenly, he lost his footing and found he was no longer connected to the floor. There was no floor. He was floating through time and space, losing his vision. Only blurry shapes were visible now, and he could barely make out anything.

there was a thud. Someone hit the floor and Harry strongly suspected it was him.

And then blackness engulfed him.

What did you think? Loved it? Hated it? Leave a review, please!

~RJ