The floor creaked beneath his boots from years of wear and the numerous battles that had raged within these walls. Harry turned his head around, nodding gently to Ron who was craning his neck around the corner. Their breathing was heavy in anticipation, both of them gulping to try and calm the rhythmic patterns.
The scratching sound echoing down the corridor sent Harry to slide forward slightly. He spun around slowly, mouthing to Ron silently. "Watch my back."
After receiving a nod from Ron, he stepped forward carefully, wand at the ready. He wiped his palm on his black pants, his hand pausing and slipping down further to make sure his spare wand was tucked in the holster above his boots.
He moved forward down the corridor slowly, his head tilting to the side softly at every door. Once he was near the middle, he turned, keeping his wand facing the opposite direction to cover his back. He lifted a hand to motion Ron down to come forward.
A searing pain ripped through his chest, causing him to stumble. He clutched his chest, biting down on his lip to keep from screaming out. The pain began to blur his vision and he heard Ron's frantic whispers, drowned out by a loud screaming he soon realized was coming from his mouth.
His immediate thoughts were Ginny; something wasn't right. He pictured her in his mind, knowing she was running errands today, one of which being for Harry, picking up files from his office. He felt the floor beneath him shift slightly and soon a fierce splintering crack muffled his shouts.
He yelled out for Ginny as he felt the floor give way and the world around him dived into darkness and silence.
Harry's eyes flew open, sweat beading down his forehead. He stared up at the ceiling while his breathing subsided and he felt a better sense of calm. He pulled off his sheets, sliding out slowly. He grabbed his cane, leaning heavily on it as he wandered to the closet.
Pomfry didn't know what curse had hit his leg, but the rest of his body was perfectly fine, save for the scratches and bruises covering his skin that would take longer to heal. He had been getting along with the cane for a few days now just fine and he was fierce on his intent to stay fully independent with everything.
He opened the closet door, smiling at the smell that assaulted him. The entire closet smelled just like her. Their bed smelled like her too, but it was combined with his scent slightly, changing it. The closet, however, was filled with her clothes, outnumbering the few things Harry actually hung up.
He smirked at the red dress draped over the chair. He had fond memories of Ginny in that dress, particularly taking it off of her after dinner a few weeks prior.
Harry sat down in the chair, looking around at everything that reminded him of his fiancé. He couldn't remember a time he hadn't thought of her in some way ever since that first kiss. She was his everything and he wasn't letting her go.
Holding his face in his hands, he sighed, thinking about the book Ron had found for Hermione in the Black library…
"I think this is it."
"What is?" Harry asked, leaning forward slightly.
"Right here…the affects of the only recorded time travel spell is known through the Diary of Alfred Pine, the supposed inventor of the time travel spell, also known as Alfred's Call. Below is a section of the book: When using Tempus Temporis, the affects vary depending upon the direct application of the spell. If the spell has been used in the manner of a curse, such as sending others against their will, their memory is automatically rewound to match with their present selves. If they are sent before their births, then they shall wander with no memories. However, if one willingly goes back and the spell and potion is properly used, they will retain their memories.
"To identify the time period in which someone has been sent to, the Identifying Potion must be brewed and the brewer must be the one to ingest it while thinking of the missing person and only that person. That's the potion we used…Traveling back in time willingly requires the Memory Potion, as well as Tempus Temporis, otherwise all memories will be rewound.
"To return back to the original time a very intricate procedure must be followed, otherwise a person will have to simply live through the number of years they traveled back. This includes several spells as well as a family amulet, proving…"
Hermione released a frustrated sigh, glaring at the book. "What is it, Hermione?" Harry asked, dread evident in his voice.
She looked up at her friend. "The rest of the page has been magically wiped away. As has the next ten pages. I'm sorry, Harry, we'll keep researching."
He had to know what it would take to send him back to the past. He was on a leave of absence from work for his injury and Ginny, as was Ron and Hermione. The two of them had been frantically working in every library they could get into while Harry was banned from helping in any way that required movement.
Harry stood up, walking out of the closet sadly. He wandered out into the kitchen, sitting down with the plate of food Molly had dropped off that evening, having taken her worries out in the form of cooking every ten minutes for anyone and everyone that she knew.
He glanced around the flat he and Ginny had been sharing for the past two years. It was the best home he had ever known next to Hogwarts and The Burrow. Photos of them were hanging everywhere. Teddy had his own special room, filled to the brim with toys of every kind. He could remember the day they had moved in so clearly it almost surprised him. They had been up most of the night unpacking and feeling the pains of moving. They were in the kitchen when it had finally hit them; they had their own place together.
He had proposed a year later. They were supposed to get married in May of next year, after an agonizing two year engagement. They had considered eloping numerous times, but they both knew they'd regret not having the real deal, wedding included.
Dropping his fork, Harry tried to imagine where Ginny was and who she was with. At fourteen…she was dating Michael Corner! She was just getting over her big crush on him. He wondered if she had been sent to Grimmauld Place, and if the order was looking after her. What would they do with her?
Harry had to get there, no matter what. At that moment he decided that if Ron and Hermione did not find a way back to the future in three days, then he would simply use the Memory Potion and Tempus Temporis and go back to some of the most miserable years of his life.
Harry dropped his fork, standing up. He froze, allowing the unbearable pain in is leg to subside before he found his trainers by the fireplace. He immediately stepped inside with a handful of floo powder.
"Ron Weasley!"
He stepped out of the grate, finding Ron and Hermione on the couch, books surrounding them. They both looked like they hadn't slept in days and the smell of coffee was overwhelming.
"What are you doing here? You should be in bed, resting!" Hermione snapped.
"I wanted to see if you've figured anything else out. Anything on Alfred Pine even?" Harry questioned, sitting down slowly in an armchair.
"No, and we completely search the Black family library. There's nothing." She responded.
"But, how many of those books that were originally in the library do you reckon were stolen from the Death Eaters during our year on the run?" Ron pointed out.
"Ron's right. For all we know the answer is in that library, just in the past. Do you think the order will find Ginny?" Harry turned back to Hermione.
"It depends on who sent her back in time. You forget that whoever cast that spell basically got to decide everything. It would have to have been a pretty powerful wizard, not everyone has enough power to cast Tempus Temporis."
"I can't think of very many Death Eaters that would come up with this elaborate of a plan." Ron glanced at Harry who nodded.
"What if it's not a Death Eater? What if this is someone trying to change the past for the good of the world?"
Hermione looked at him curiously. "Harry, do you really think that someone wants that badly to get rid of these Death Eaters? I mean, they are still doing horrible things and making so many lives miserable still, but so few stood up when Voldemort was in power, why would they do that now?"
Harry was about to respond when Ron cut him off. "Hermione, we don't tell you very much about our work with good reason. We've seen some pretty awful acts these past few years, some of them rivaling what Voldemort even did. Yes, these Death Eaters are not very smart, but they do know two things. One, they know how to commit their crimes in incredible secrecy. They've had years of practice, after all. Second, they know exactly how to cause the most pain and exactly what will send a person over the edge. I think it's a very possible option that this is someone's way of changing things.
"But, my question is, why 1995? I'd love to save people and end the war faster, but what if it destroyed an important part of our lives that we needed to make us who we are? I don't like the idea of meddling with time, even after what you and Harry did in third year because that was only a few hours. It's just too unknown."
Harry sighed, leaning back. "I was thinking the exact same thing, Ron."