A/N—This is real life, people. After 731 days, I finally have an update for you—or at least for those of you who have not died of old age during the long wait. All I can say is that I no longer hate this story with a burning passion, which was quite possibly the reason for the long delay.

Just a few things before you finally get to read this chapter. I've gone back and edited the story a bit; mostly just spelling/grammar errors and other typos and general minor mistakes. A bit more detail was given in some instances, but the story hasn't changed. Please try to be patient with me as I try to get back in the habit of actually writing this story. It's been two years and, in that time, I haven't had another story quite like it—a.k.a. a story of actual substance with ridiculously long chapters. Hopefully updates will now be much quicker than every 2 years, though. Enjoy!

Chapter Twenty Eight

Although Harry quite positively adored Hogwarts and all of the mysteries and adventures waiting to be discovered within her walls, he found himself not wanting to return after the Christmas Holiday for the remainder of his third year.

"You aren't going to disappear again, are you?" Harry asked his aunt, a worried expression upon his face. "I mean, I totally understand why you didn't answer any of my letters last year, now. And it was obviously for a good reason that you, Remus, and Sirius left last term. But…it isn't going to happen again the rest of this year, is it?"

"No," Ginny replied slowly, glancing over at Harry. "I think the rest of this school year will be spent doing research. Like I already told you: there's a lot about Voldemort's life we don't know that could clue us in on possible locations for his Horcruxes—whatever objects they might turn out to be. Plus, it'll be an especially large workload because Remus will be with you at Hogwarts."

"And Sirius won't?" Harry was quick to question.

"He will," Ginny replied with a grin. "But let's be realistic here, how much help with research do you really think Sirius is going to be? Especially after all of the complaining he did last time."

Harry couldn't help but grin in response. He relaxed back into his seat, comforted a bit by what his aunt had had to say. They were in the car on their way to King's Cross Station and Harry was determined that this term would be better than his last. Well…except for one thing…

"And what about Pettigrew?" Harry asked. "Should I be worried about any more appearances from him?"

"I've filled Sirius and Remus both in on everything you'll need to know," Ginny replied. She hadn't had time to tell Harry because the surrogate family of four had been attempting to enjoy the short week they had together before everyone left Ginny for Hogwarts once more. "And I've made it quite clear to both of them exactly what they should tell you. Things will work out for the best, Harry. I'm sure of it."

"Do you promise?" Harry asked her as she pulled into a parking space outside of the station.

Ginny was silent as the car came to a halt and she turned the engine off. Finally, she turned so that she was fully facing her young charge.

"You know I can't do that, Harry, no matter how much I would like to," Ginny told him. "I really would like nothing more than for the rest of your life to go smoothly, with no interference from any kind of dark wizards."

"But that isn't going to happen," Harry finished for her.

"No," Ginny agreed, "It isn't."

Ginny turned away from Harry just in time to see that Sirius had just exited the station and was making his way towards their parked car. Quickly, she turned back to Harry.

"You can do your best to try to make it happen, though," She told him. "Just try to be normal, enjoy Quidditch, live your life. Pay attention in school, be a good friend to all who need it."

"Even Malfoy?" Harry questioned sarcastically.

"There's an exception to everything," Ginny allowed. "But it wouldn't hurt to try to be his friend, even though I already know it won't go anywhere."

"We'll just give that up as a lost cause, then," Harry said decisively, finally unbuckling his seatbelt. He had just noticed Sirius, who was just about at the car by this time. Suddenly, he reached across the car and threw his arms around Ginny in a quick hug, pulling away before she had a chance to really react. "Bye, Aunt Ginny. I'll miss you."

And without another word, Harry had exited the car and made his way over to where Sirius was waiting for him. With one last wave, the pair disappeared back into the station, off to collect Harry's trunk from wherever Sirius had most likely abandoned it when he had arrived there earlier in the morning.

Ginny sat there for several moments after they had both left her sight. For as much as she really did think that Harry would be prepared the next time he and Pettigrew crossed paths, she still worried. Ginny was afraid that she was taking the wrong approach in all of this. Although she had a general idea of what to expect, she also knew that there was no real guarantee that things would turn out the same way they had when she was growing up.

And of course, even if things had stayed the same, Ginny really had no way of knowing exactly how everything was supposed to turn out. She had never truly been a part of Harry Potter's inner circle, so to say. She honestly couldn't say that she knew everything he had when it had come time for him to finally face off with Voldemort. And this scared Ginny.

Ginny had been brought back to the past for one reason, above all others: to save Harry Potter's life. There were no two ways about it. In her time, Harry Potter had not survived and she was here now to make sure that didn't happen again. The first step was to correct Dumbledore's earliest mistakes, which she had clearly already accomplished. But the next thing for her to do was to prepare Harry where Dumbledore had failed him. And she would do it. Ginny, Remus, and Sirius had gotten off to an excellent start, having already located one of Voldemort's Horcruxes. She knew that she didn't know everything that went on in her own timeline, but continued research would bring her closer to the truth.

Ginny Weasley was determined.

She smiled slightly to herself at this thought. Yes, she would make sure that Harry succeeded this time around. She would be prepared for anything that life (be it Destiny or Fate) might throw in his path. And, naturally, the first step to accomplishing that would be to continue on with her research.

With a small nod to herself, Ginny restarted the ignition. Yes, back to Grimmauld Place and more research it was. And as she drove away from King's Cross, there was just one final thought Ginny mulled over in her head…

Hermione liked research. Why couldn't Destiny have sent Hermione back in time with Ginny?


Ron was unsurprised to find Hermione sitting by herself in the very last compartment on the Hogwarts Express. It wasn't at all like her to make things easy for other people.

"I should have known when I didn't find you right away that you'd be all the way down here," Ron informed her by way of a greeting as he slid the door to the compartment open.

Hermione looked up from her book, a bemused expression upon her face. "Of course you should have known. We always sit in this compartment."

"Do we really?" Ron questioned, his brow furrowed as he stored his luggage in the overhead compartment. "I hadn't noticed…"

"Boys…" Hermione muttered under her breath, placing her bookmark in between the pages of her book to keep her place before shutting it and placing it on the empty seat beside her. "You're all oblivious…"

Ron merely shook his head at this and chose to change the subject. "So, did you hear from Harry at all over break?"

Hermione shook her head. "And I managed to sneak off to Ginny's cottage in Godric's Hollow once, while we were visiting my aunt. There was no sign of them there."

"It's a bit odd that all three of them have been gone for so long without so much as a word to Harry," Ron said decisively, taking the seat across from the bushy-haired girl.

"I'm sure they have their reasons," Hermione said. "Besides, for all we know, Harry was able to find something out about their absence and he just couldn't get word to us."

Ron shrugged. "If he ever gets here then we'll be able to ask him."

"Ask who what?" As if on cue, Harry appeared in the open doorway that Ron had forgotten to shut behind him. The black-haired boy was pulling his trunk behind him.

"Harry!" Hermione greeted the final member of their trio happily as Ron got back to his feet to assist the other boy with his luggage. "How was your holiday? Did you find anything out? Ron and I were worried when neither of us heard from you."

"Sorry about that," Harry said sheepishly, sitting beside Ron after the pair had stowed his trunk. "I…er…did find a letter from Aunt Ginny in Grimmauld Place when I got Aunt Petunia to stop there on the way home for the holiday. But it didn't really tell me anything!" He was quick to add once he caught a glimpse of the incredulous expressions upon his friends' faces. "Pretty much just that the three of them had to leave and that she couldn't trust that a letter—even one left in Grimmauld Place—wouldn't be intercepted, so she didn't tell me anything about where they had gone or what they were doing."

"So you spent the whole holiday at the Dursley's, then?" Ron questioned.

"Er…no," Harry said shortly. "You see…well, Ginny, Sirius, and Remus turned up on Privet Drive on Christmas night."

"And you didn't think to write to us to let us know that they were still alive?" Hermione demanded.

"Er…no," Harry said once again.

"You have positively horrid communication skills," Hermione informed her friend.

"This is true," Harry said agreeably. "I can tell you all about it right now, though, if you'd like."

"I think we would like that," Ron told him. "Seeing as we—or at least I—spent pretty much my whole time at home worrying that your family was lying dead at the bottom of a ditch somewhere."

"That's a bit overdramatic, don't you think?" Harry questioned.

"It's best to be prepared for anything," Ron said with a shrug. "But go on, tell us: where did they go? What were they doing?"

"Horcruxes," Harry stated simply. "They were doing research on Horcruxes that Voldemort may have made, and apparently they found one."

"Did they destroy it?" Hermione asked eagerly.

Harry shook his head. "Apparently Voldemort might be in the same area that it's hidden in sometime soon—"

"What?!" Ron interrupted, but Harry shrugged.

"Don't ask me for more information than that," Harry informed him. "All Aunt Ginny told me is that I won't have to face him any time this school year."

"Well that's good news at least," Hermione said with a sigh. "So they found a Horcrux but they're going to let it be in case Voldemort wants to…what? Check up on it?"

"Pretty much," Harry replied with an affirmative nod. "And Aunt Ginny told me that she's going to keep researching for the rest of the term to see if she can find out any more information about other possible Horcruxes."

"Lovely," Ron stated. "And we still don't know how many there are?"

"Not a chance," Harry said.

"What about Pettigrew?" Hermione asked when Harry made no move to continue speaking. "Did they have any information for you about him?"

"Aunt Ginny says that Moony and Padfoot can tell us anything we want to know," Harry told her. "After they finally got back, Aunt Ginny got some crazy idea that we needed to have family bonding time for the rest of the time we were all home, which is also why I never got the chance to write to either of you."

"Well, I guess we can forgive you, then," Ron said with a small grin. "I think we all know how insane that aunt of yours can be."

Harry laughed. "So, what did the two of you do over your holiday?"

"Well…"

Originally Posted 8/12/12