A/N: Back in the future…

General Disclaimer: I'm slowly understanding how annoying it is to have this many characters. So that's how you know I'm not Rowling: I would have kept the HP character list short and sweet. Then there would be no worries of accidentally leaving out a dozen or so 'crucial' plot elements! *headdesk*

Tori looked over Audrey's shoulder and jotted out an incorrect equation. "Building it shouldn't be overly complex, it just takes a great deal of time—"

"Let me go." Ginny said without hesitance, reaching into her pocket to feel the piece of old parchment beneath her fingertips. "Tell me how to build it, and I'll go back."

—From Ch.6: Paradoxes and Pathways

The Weasleys were used to mad situations. They also had more than a passing familiarity with dangerous ones. So they could handle things like battles or auror missions. They were good at that. They had more than enough practice with keeping level heads, helping each other to make it out alive and with minimal scars. They were very good at the last. But when members of the family were forced to fight by themselves, that's when the system (such as it was) broke down. Not for the 'lost' individuals—for the ones left behind to fret and worry.

Which was why Ron had absolutely no qualms about drugging his sister. Sure, she was going to murder him as soon as she was lucid, but he couldn't stand seeing her like this. More than that, he understood. At least a bit. He'd lost track of how many times over the years Harry had gone off on some mad quest by himself. More often than not, it wasn't really the bloke's fault. But the redhead was getting sick of his best mate being launched into these situations: couldn't he tempt fate a bit less?

Still, this wasn't actually the 'major' problem. That Harry was back in time with the kids was the only reason they weren't all in a flat-out panic. Ginny, of course, was still going spare. No one could blame her, and more than a few family members had murmured about the similarities between this and the kidnapping affair years ago. Ron had briskly silenced anyone talking about that as he didn't want his sister to overhear. Though, he had to admit that her depression was a bit of a deja vu. Though, back then, at least Harry had been at her side. He'd been equally frantic, but they'd had each other to clutch onto.

So, all things considered, Ron really didn't feel bad about slipping something into Ginny's tea.

"Are you sure this will work?" Ron said, looking around his sister's living room (or what was left of it) in worry. George Weasley had his head in the empty fireplace, gazing at the back carvings in fascination.

"Positive." Audrey didn't look up from the runes she was tracing onto the empty mantlepiece. "Absolutely positive, no sweat, everything is going entirely to plan."

"But it…I don't want Ginny to get into trouble." The redhead tried to find the right words. "It all seems too easy."

Astoria Malfoy huffed, glancing down at the siblings-in-law. "That's what's worrying you? Let me put you at ease. This," she shook her wand, making silver sparks fly from the ceiling to the floor, "is not easy. The theories alone took three months, on top of years of previous research, and certainly wasn't easy. Dosing Ginny with calming potions wasn't easy. Dosing that mutt of yours with an even larger amount of sleeping potions wasn't easy. Spending a month trying to get permission to even do this wasn't easy! Fighting against the press to get to the Potter house with its disconnected floo, anti-apparation charms, and every ward known to mankind wasn't easy!"

For perhaps the first time in her life, Tori Malfoy was frazzled. Terribly frazzled. More so than when her mother-in-law visited, or when dear, dear Draco was insisting they call poor Scorpius, Uranus. The 'muggleborn' joke had gone over his head.

In sheer contrast to Tori's 'stress-and-work-related-almost-breakdown', Hermione Granger-Weasley seemed to be in her element. Not that intense worry about her brother-in-law and his family wasn't etched across her face, but she still seemed at home in this chaotic situation. For the first time in years, Tori flash-backed to her Hogwarts days and the rumours that had circulated about the Golden Trio. Just how much of that gossip had been true?

"Come on, Tori," Hermione flicked her wand, creating another cascade of ancient runes between them as they hung upside down from the ceiling. "That's what Ron does: he worries. Though admit it, using the floo with this is highly unorthodox. At least this situation isn't even more difficult, what with the kids at Hogwarts or Andromeda's, for once we don't have to worry about them spying on us."

Tori clutched at the chandelier and sighed. "This whole thing is unorthodox, Merlin knows how it's going to turn out. But sure, at least the kids aren't underfoot. Did you know, right before Scorpius left I caught him and Rose making plans to sneak into the Department of Mysteries! If he'd gone through the wrong door, who knows what might've happened."

Hermione nodded in agreement, but quickly stopped when it made her head pound. "With those two seeking out adventures, I'm shocked they weren't in Gryffindor."

"You and me both." Ron grumbled, but no one heard him.

"Those two were already halfway to the time magic centre." Audrey spoke up glibly, decorating the fireplace with varied figures which, Tori half-suspected, she had made up on the spot. "Very smart. I remember when Rosie was little, she and Al stole Percy's wand and had a competition of who could say the most interesting spells. I can't recall which one set the pond on fire, but I know that Rosie created that lovely Mad Matter tea party. The Dormouse was such a dear dinner guest. Then when Scorpius first visited Tori at work he snuck away and spotted a paradox with three of the Prophecies in five minutes flat! Goodness, we should recruit them."

"NO!" Hermione and Tori yelled as one, startling the Weasley boys. There was a thump as George made a connection with the top of the fireplace.

"It was only a suggestion." Audrey shrugged, nonplussed. The smile returned to her lips as she inspected the room. George slowly emerged out, covered with ashes, rubbing the back of his head gingerly. "Are we done? I'll go get Ginny!"

"No wait, Audrey!" Hermione called out from the ceiling, but the other woman had already raced from the room. With one more glance around, she sighed and levitated herself down. Tori followed suit, sending one last inscribed rune behind her as she went.

A few minutes passed before Audrey reentered, a swaying Ginny Potter at her side with Molly Weasley worriedly walking beside her daughter. Tori felt a stab of guilt at her earlier thoughts bemoaning her stress. For, no matter how disheveled she felt or looked, it was nothing compared to her friend.

Ron quickly came up and George grabbed hold of his sister's thin and pale arm. Ginny kept smiling in her potion-induced state, blinking loquaciously and not really comprehending anything around her. Tori wished she could keep her in this forced sense of calm, but the time for that had passed.

Ginny kept blinking and turned to face George. She poked him. He blinked, smiled slightly, and poked her back. She grinned widely and a poking battle commenced.

"George," Hermione stared at the siblings, "she's half-delirious. But you have no excuse!"

"Remember who you're talking to." Ron shrugged as George and Ginny began to attack each other with stray pads of paper, "Also, forget about delirium: Ginny's always been up for a tickling match."

Tori wanted to step in with the wide open sexual innuendo, before remembering that Ginny's two brothers were in the room and likely wouldn't appreciate her allusion. Even though it was a perfect opening. She almost wished her husband was here. Though Draco was still only barely civil with the Weasleys and Potters, that just meant he wouldn't hesitate in saying hilariously insulting statements in that sexy drawl of his.

The tickling match only paused when the door burst open to emit a gaggle of Weasleys.

"Finally!" Mrs. Weasley huffed, crossing her arms at her wayward husband, sons, and daughters-in-law. "Why, may I ask, are you so late? You might have missed Ginny!"

"But mum, we didn't." Percy explained as he clutched his chest, trying to catch his breath. "And we, we were working on this, and—" he at last caught notice of the room "-—and, ah, Gin? What happened to your living room?"

Ginny, having George in a headlock, didn't answer.

Bill glanced at his sister and ear-less sibling, and shrugged. "Perce, I think that's one of those questions you don't want answered."

Unlike Bill, Fleur peered at the two wrestling Weasleys in surprise.

"Isn't someone going to…" Fleur began, but was stopped from a shake of Arthur's head.

Angelina sighed. "Don't bother asking. Just accept that all blood Weasleys are closet rugby players."

"Rugby?" Arthur looked over in interest.

"A muggle sport." Audrey explained before Hermione could, levitating a last batch of scrolls and loose runes off into a corner, while blowing a kiss to her husband. "About as violent as Quidditch and—wait. Angie, how'd you know about it?"

The witch opened her mouth to answer, but a soft voice from the floor beat her to it.

"Last summer, we tried to get the kids' into something not explosive." Ginny's voice still held a faint glimmer of happy delirium, but from her downcast eyes it was clear that the cheering potions were rapidly fading. "Ha-Harry taught them football, but Fred and Ja—" she hiccupped, "—Jamie would only play rugby."

Angelina tried to put on a carefree smile. "I think they were only set on practicing because Al and Louis kept beating them."

George half-hugged his sister, both of them still sitting on the floor. "Don't know why you married that bloke, Gin. Teaching your kids muggle sports when there's Quidditch to play? Mental."

Ginny laughed slightly, wiping her tears away.

"Can't believe I'm saying this, but George's right." Ron looped his arm around Hermione's waist. "Harry's great, but completely barmy. You've got to get to them before he muggle-ifies their young, impressionable minds."

"'Muggle-ifies their young, impressionable minds'?" Hermione slowly turned to face her sheepishly grinning husband. "You're an idiot."

"But I'm your idiot."

"Hem hem!" The Weasleys jumped as one, swirling around to face a smirking Tori.

"Sorry, it was appropriate." She shrugged, ignoring the glares, and not looking very sorry at all. "We really don't have a long window of time. So let's send Ginny back so that she can make sure her kids haven't lost any of their Quidditch obsessiveness. Because that is clearly the most important thing."

From Tori's expression, the Weasley's couldn't determine if she was being serious or sarcastic.

"Just a moment, we have a small surprise." Arthur stepped up, pulling a sheath of parchment from an enlarged pocket. "This was why we were running late. We wanted to get something to help you with the Ministry."

"Since what we were doing was highly illegal," Bill said with a nonchalant air, "the girls came with us to—distract—any potential problems."

Angelina finally snickered, pulling her amused husband from the floor. "Fleur put on her charms at one end of the corridor. I had a different kind of 'charm' on my end."

Ginny looked at her family in bewilderment. "Highly illegal? What in Merlin's name did you do! We're in enough trouble with the time travel."

"I think you'll like this." Percy smiled, looking far too comfortable with breaking various wizarding laws. "With Harry having issues with the Hallows, we guessed you'd need a way to get to the Veil of Death in a time when the Ministry…ah…hated him." He looked a bit comfortable at the end, but cheered up slightly when Audrey whispered something in his ear.

Fleur grinned at Ginny conspiratorially. "Zis," she pointed proudly to the parchment her father-in-law held, "is all ze records for ze Département of Mysteries!"

Tori raised an eyebrow, especially when she caught the guilty look on Audrey's features. Ah, oh well. They were already toeing the line of legality, so why not go all the way over? Besides, she had an alibi and plausible deniability on her side.

"Well, not all." Angelina piped in. "Just the passwords, personnel names, and other useful information from the end of 1995 into 1996. Also, Fleur, quit it with 'ze French accent'! You don't have to entrance any more men for our cover."

"I don't mind it." Bill smiled at his blushing wife. "Reminds me of when we first met—"

"I'm stopping you there." George groaned, clapping a hand over his ear. "Still, Gin, we were all collaborating on the Ministry project: everyone just figured Ron and I could 'cheer you up' the most."

Percy snorted. "Funny. I thought the reason you two stayed behind was because Ron attracts as much trouble as Harry, and you'd likely destroy a Ministry Department 'by accident'."

Ron made a token—though weak—protest. George merely waved away the accusation. "Been there, done that."

"I think that was his point." Audrey said in amusement.

"Again, people," Tori piped in, "the small timeframe?"

"Right." Hermione said briskly, a few tears running down her cheeks. "Everything's set. Ginny, do you have—"

The youngest Weasley quickly interrupted. "If you run down the list of what I'm bringing again, I might just go mental. Yes, I have all the supplies: books and charts, money, food, shrunken broomsticks, and numerous dark magic detectors. Oh, and the assorted Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes' products. Don't worry."

If Ginny thought she'd be in for a Hermione-lecture, she was disappointed. For instead, she was practically run over as the brunette grabbed her into a bear-hug.

"Don't do anything stupid!" The other woman said, finally leaning back and most assuredly crying. "And dear Merlin, please stop Harry from wrecking the timeline. And get him out of the morbid mood that we just know he's in, and get rid of those blasted Hallows! Ginny, if you or your dratted husband pull a heroic stunt and get yourselves killed, I'm going to resurrect you so I can murder you myself! Do you hear me?"

Ron, in slight amusement, pulled the brunette away before tightly hugging his sister. "Listen to Hermione." He whispered. "She's mental, but knows what she's talking about. Don't take any risks."

"You're one to talk." Ginny whispered back, but felt a warm glow in her stomach as she returned the embrace.

George stepped up next with a wide smile. "I'm just picturing all of us in 1995. Harry was a midget, Percy was a git, Ron and Hermione were bickering constantly…wait, not, that last hasn't changed." He swept his little sister into a tight embrace, before whispering in her ear. "Give him a big, slobbering kiss, and an absolutely mortifying hug. But don't tell him, not if you can't change it. Please don't. Just…just make him laugh?"

"Will do." Ginny replied in a choked voice. George at last pulled away, to only be grabbed by Angelina who whispered something to him. The other Weasleys pretended not to notice his red eyes.

Bill and Percy also said their farewells, and Ginny's sisters-in-law plus Tori (and Hermione once more) gave her a choking group hug. Finally, Arthur and Molly stepped forward. Molly was making no effort to hold back her tears, and when she pulled Ginny into a tight hug it was clear that she never wanted to let her go. But at last, she lifted her head up to look at her daughter with a hungry gaze, as though she did not know when she would next see her precious child.

"Be safe." Molly stuttered, the strength in her voice collapsing. "Dear Merlin, be safe! Don't get involved in the war, what's done is done. Find them and please, please just come back."

"Mollywobbles," Arthur whispered to his tearful wife while also pulling his crying daughter into an embrace, "it will be all right. Oh, Ginny-bear—"

"I hate that name." Ginny smiled, hiccupping slightly.

"Too bad." Arthur only tightened the hug. "I love it. I love you so much, and I swear, if it was anyone but Harry and the kids…"

"…we'd never let you go." Molly finished, tears leaking through her words. " Just bring them back and keep yourself in one piece."

Ginny pulled away slightly, though even that took an effort. She looked unsure about her next words, but drew a deep breath and decided to continue on. "Haven't you wondered…you said there's a way to create an alternate future. If we can't have Fred back, and give Teddy his parents and Harry his godfather, can't I make it so our other selves do have them?"

The Weasleys looked stricken. It was Bill who finally spoke, stepping up to his sister hesitantly. "I don't think any of us disagree with you. But you can't risk yourself—"

"I won't!" Ginny said, her eyes flashing.

"—I know, but you can't." Bill said coaxingly. "You can't take a risk, especially since you don't know how anything will change the future. If an 'alternative reality' can be created, great, but we don't know that for sure."

"It seems pretty likely!" Ginny continued. "My family's been back there for ages. What are the chances that the timeline hasn't already been changed?"

Silence fell.

"If that's the case," it was Percy who now hesitantly spoke, "then try to make their future better. Don't get into the fighting, but if you can change things without being hurt," his voice faltered, "if you could change my younger self's mind. Maybe, maybe he could help you with the Ministry?"

Arthur placed a reassuring hand on his son's shoulder, before turning to his daughter. "I think that's a good compromise. If you know the future has been altered, than why not try to change it for the better. But please, please don't take any dangerous risks."

"I won't." Ginny said softly. "Percy, I'll make your younger self see sense. George…" she met her brother's red-rimmed eyes with her own, "…I'll change it. I swear to you, I'll change it."

"There might be a problem with this." Ron spoke up hesitantly, looking as though this was the last thing he wanted to say. "If you start changing stuff future, the order of events will change."

"That's kind of the point." Angelina pointed out, still embracing her husband.

Ron shook his head. "What I mean is everything will be out-of-order. You'll have to find a different way to get to the horcruxes, take down Voldemort…" his voice stalled with choked back emotion. "Gin, in 1995 Harry still had that—that thing in his head. It was sheer luck that he survived. If the events get mixed up? Who's to say he'll have the Hallows when he gets hit by the killing curse? Or what if it's something else, like fiendfyre?"

Silence once more enveloped the room.

Ginny bit her fingernail anxiously. "With Harry's help, I can take care of the horcruxes. The Hallows we should probably leave alone, and aside from a few events I won't touch the war."

"What about Harry himself?" Ron asked, determination intermingling with concern. "This is taking a lot of risks. Different deaths might happen. Merlin knows how many close calls we all had."

"I can take care of it!" Ginny said sharply, tears stinging her eyes. "I won't let anyone else die!"

"You might not have a choice." Hermione said quietly, taking her husband's shaking hand in her own. "But just remember that you'll return to this future. So if something does go wrong…"

"Nothing will go wrong." Ginny looked down at the floor, clenching her fingers anxiously. "I won't let them go through what we had to. Sirius, Fred, Tonks, Remus, Colin…" she flung her red hair back, gazing at her family with tears rolling down her cheeks. "Don't try and tell me you don't think the same! Merlin, if I can only save Harry…"

"That's it." Ron slowly moved forward to his sister in dawning realisation. "Even aside from the deaths, you want to stop the Deathly Hallows fiasco."

"Not only that." Ginny protested, but her stance weakened under Ron's understanding gaze. Finally, her voice gave way. "It—it was horrible."

"I know."

"It still haunts him."

Ron nodded, pain crossing his features. "Yeah."

Ginny looked at her brother with a burst of anger. "He's your best friend! Wouldn't you do anything to stop it?"

Ron gently held his distressed sister's shoulders. "Of course. I wasn't arguing about that. It's just that with the 'Potter Luck', if one thing's changed something else's bound to happen to Harry."

"What?" Ginny questioned, but seemed to calm marginally. "What else could bloody well happen to him?"

"I don't know." Ron rubbed his eyes. "It's a gut feeling, a'right? So be careful and think about the consequences."

Ginny looked at her brother seriously, but still snorted. "Your wife's rubbing off on you. 'Think about the consequences'?"

"It's good advice." Hermione said lightly, coming up behind her husband.

"I second that." Tori finally spoke up. "But for the last time, we've got to get going. So Gin, get a last round of hugs, grab your sack, and step up to the fireplace."

A/N: Blatant foreshadowing? Yups. But of course I have something in mind for poor Harry. Ron's quite right to worry.