A/N: I'm such a gimp! I can't even spell "lightning" correctly! Ugh! Ok, enough of my ranting. Well, I should be working on some school work, but I'm the world's greatest procrastinator, so I'm posting this instead :). Ok, people, we're nearing the end of this little epic now. Probably only another two or three chapters to go. Anyway, this chapter got a bit strange, so please let me know what you think. I may have to revise it later. Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. Oh, and Firebolt909 asked about the latin. According to my source, "quadrivium" means "place where four roads meet" which I picked because space-time has four dimensions. "Ibidem" (which is something else I spelled incorrectly grrr) means "in the same place," "revenio" means "to return," and "satus" means "origin, start, beginning." ~*Ginny*~, don't worry, I understood exactly what you meant ;). K, here we go again.
Chapter Twelve
Changing the Future
Without stopping to think twice, Harry launched himself out of bed, grabbed his Invisibility Cloak and raced out of the room. Down the stairs, through the common room, then up the stairs that led to the girls' dorms, he didn't stop running until he reached the door to the sixth year girls' dormitory. He swished the cloak around himself as he tried to calm his ragged breathing and his worried thoughts. Upon more or less succeeding at this, he pushed open the door as quietly as he could, then cautiously stepped inside.
The only sounds audible were the quiet breathing of the sleeping girls and the occasional rustling of sheets as someone moved in their sleep.
Harry hesitantly began to walk between the beds, wondering uneasily how he should go about discovering which bed Ginny was hopefully in. After a moment's hesitation, he began to systematically peek through the curtains of each bed, for want of a better idea.
His initial unease turned to muted panic as, one by one, the beds contained no sign of Ginny. He'd reached the last bed, which had to be hers one way or another, and he fervently hoped that she was lying there, asleep.
With more than a little trepidation, he peeled back the curtain, unconsciously holding his breath.
And there, to his eternal relief, was Ginny Weasley, sleeping peacefully on her left side.
Harry could not help the deep sigh that escaped his lips as he saw her there, seemingly safe. For now, anyway. He watched her for a brief moment before allowing the curtain to fall and silently walking out the door, closing it behind him.
As he trudged down the stairs, his anxiousness giving way to weariness and lassitude, he mulled over how much the thought of losing Ginny--really losing her--had terrified him. Sure, he'd realized that losing her for any reason--to Voldemort or to another guy--would have been a painful blow. But before tonight, before that dream, the threat hadn't seemed so real. The fear and the anguish that he might never see her face or hear her laughs again had been so painful that it had physically hurt him. And he realized that he'd never been so afraid at the prospect of losing someone. He'd never feared death himself and he'd never felt this kind of fear at losing Ron or Hermione, or even Sirius, though that's not to say that he didn't fear losing them. He did. But just contemplating losing Ginny was enough to send shivers down his spine and make him seriously consider going back up to make sure she was still ok.
He was so caught up in his thoughts that he barely realized he had, in fact, made it back into his dorm room, so caught up that he almost missed the fact that Ron was awake and waiting for him--complete with a cold glare on his face. So distracted he almost missed the dangerous tone in Ron's deceptively neutral greeting. Almost.
Seeing Ron standing there menacingly was enough to snap Harry out of his thoughts real quick.
"Harry." It was quiet, and it was dangerous.
Harry eyed him warily. "Ron."
"Coming to bed awfully late, aren't you?"
A sigh that was halfway between exasperation and desperation escaped his lips. Harry quickly went through his options. 1. Lie and deny everything, 2. Avoid answering at all costs, or 3. Tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth. It was a lose-lose situation that would be exacerbated if he didn't just come out and be perfectly honest.
"Look Ron,' he began in an earnest, though cautious voice, "I was already in bed, when I had a nightmare about Voldemort." He saw Ron flinch. "Sorry. Anyway, the Death Eaters were surrounding him and one was kneeling before him." He paused, trying to figure out the best way to put this, then decided to be blunt. "They know Ginny's the Turner, and he wants to kidnap her." Ron's face lost all of its color, and Harry finished. "I was just making sure she was ok."
Ron was quiet for a moment, as if taking in everything Harry had said. After a few moments of silence, he spoke. "And is she?" he asked quietly, a hint of fear in his voice.
Harry nodded. "For now." He watched Ron's face turn grim. Harry wanted to say more. "Look Ron, we can try our best to look after her. He doesn't have to get her," he said soothingly, hoping he was reassuring Ron more than he was reassuring himself.
Ron eyed him, then released a sigh. "But you don't believe that Harry." It was more statement than question, and said without recrimination. Just a simple statement of fact.
"No," he answered quietly. There was another moment of silence, then he spoke again. "But you can bet that I'm still going to watch out for her as if I thought it would do some good."
Ron stared Harry in the eyes. "So will I," he said, his voice brooking no argument. Harry nodded, having expected no less. He made to go back to bed, but Ron stopped him. "Uh, Harry?"
It caught Harry so off guard, he turned back to look at Ron.
"Look Harry," Ron began, obviously uncomfortable. "You remember earlier, when I caught you and Ginny . . . "
"Yeah."
Ron cleared his throat. "Right. I never meant to imply that you, you know, wanted to see Ginny get hurt . . . "
Harry bit back a scathing comment and just nodded, trying to get Ron to say whatever it was he wanted to say.
"It's just that I was . . . surprised . . . and very worried . . . and, well, you know how I can be . . . "
"All too well," Harry affirmed dryly.
A ghost of a smile crossed Ron's face. "Well anyway . . . I guess I'm just trying to say that I'm . . . I'm sorry for being, you know, so hard on you, and now that she could be in real danger, we should try and put this behind us so that we can look after each other better."
Harry could see that Ron looked somewhat hopeful. He smiled at his best friend. "I missed you."
Ron's smile was relieved. "I missed you too."
"I'm sorry too, you know," Harry said suddenly. "I mean, I probably should have warned you or something."
"I don't think it would have done any good," Ron mumbled.
Harry laughed quietly. "Probably not."
Ron stuck out his hand. "Friends?"
Harry shook it. "Friends."
The two shared a small smile. "Come on," Harry finally said. "Let's get some sleep."
Ron nodded and soon the two were in their respective beds, sound asleep.
***
It was the week that most of the seventh years had feared for nearly as long as they could remember. The week they took their NEWT's. The week was pure hell for the seventh years from every house, all of whom had been cramming for these exams for the last month. With the stress of these make-or-break exams, Ron, Harry, and Hermione saw very little of Ginny during the week. Not that they didn't try to spend time with her, but the NEWT's were a force to have a healthy dose of fear and respect--akin, perhaps, to a tornado or hurricane. Thus, they spent nearly all of their time in the exams, studying for the exams, or eating, in that order.
By Friday of that week, Ginny could tell that they were on the verge of nervous breakdowns from a combination of stress, nerves, malnutrition, and exhaustion. She felt awful for them, and a little fearful, because they looked so bad. Needless to say, they were in their beds by the end of exams Friday afternoon.
Ginny didn't really mind that her friends had forsaken her for sleep. She could understand their reasons, and so she ate her dinner with Colin Creevey that night, resolving to make sure she got Harry, Ron, and Hermione some food for when they awoke.
She'd had her own end of the year exams that week, so while she had missed their company, she had had plenty to keep her occupied. Her exams had gone rather well, she mused as she headed for the Gryffindor common room after dinner, and she was rather pleased, but also anxious to find out how her friends had fared during their tests.
Even outside of the classroom, the week had held a surprise or two for her. She'd become more adept at Turning, and had even practiced some of the other spells in her book. The one that had become her favorite--outside of Turning, of course--was the one in which she could speed up or slow time down. She'd tried it on her brother on Thursday evening, when they'd had a bit of free time, and had watched in fascination as he talked a mile minute, completely unaware that she had caused the time in his vicinity to speed up. That had been extremely amusing, particularly when Harry and Hermione realized what was going on and had laughed at him, just causing him to be very confused. They'd all had a good laugh, even Ron, when she had returned him to normal time and told him what she had done. He'd begged her to use it on someone else so, because he'd been much friendlier towards Harry, she'd obliged him. She'd discreetly cast the spell on Draco Malfoy, and the four could barely contain their laughter as they watched him speed through his dinner like he hadn't eaten in years. It had amused them even more when, after she'd muttered the counter-incantation, he'd been puzzled at how he'd finished before everyone else.
But the biggest surprise had come during dinner tonight. She'd been eating with Colin, when she had looked up and saw Justin leaving the Great Hall, holding hands with Susan Bones. She'd been so surprised that, with nary a word to Colin, she jumped up and ran after Justin. She managed to catch him and pulled him aside. She figured that he was fine with everything now, but she really wanted to hear it from his lips.
He told her that he and Susan had been friends since their first year and that the study sessions for the NEWT's had brought them closer together. They'd only been going out for a day, but he was happy, which made Ginny extremely happy--for him and for herself. With a final hug and a "good luck," Ginny skipped back into the Great Hall and finished her dinner quickly.
She had reached the portrait of the Fat Lady and, saying the password, she entered into the common room, scanning it for her friends. They weren't there. With a bit of a disappointed sigh, she headed up to her own dorm room, planning to do a little more studying of her book. It was only when she flopped into bed that she realized exactly how tired she was. And, before she'd consciously made the decision, she had fallen asleep.
***
The evening breeze ruffled through her hair as she sat and watched the sunset. It felt so wonderful, even if he wasn't here to share it with her, and she closed her eyes to savor the wind caressing her cheeks. She imagined that the wind was actually his fingers, tenderly stroking her cheeks as he'd done that night after her first Turn. She smiled slightly, her eyes still closed.
Her smile turned to a frown. Something was wrong. She was just trying to figure that out when she felt someone grab her from behind and clamp a firm hand over her mouth. She struggled so hard against the hands that held her, but it was no use, as a second later she had been knocked unconscious.
The sharp blackness around her became fuzzy as color found its way to her. Her head ached as she struggled to sharpen her vision, to see what was going on around her. She could hear a high, cruel voice speaking. The voice stopped suddenly--where had she heard that voice before?--and she heard another familiar voice, full of anger, defiance and bravery. Her vision was beginning to clear up just as the second voice stopped speaking. She could see him. It was Harry. Her gaze fell on the tall figure opposite him. Voldemort. Behind him, she saw the ocean and a huge, looming building up on a cliff.
Her head swam. What was going on? How did she get here? It came back to her in a flash. She'd been kidnapped, and Harry must be here to save her. That gave her some hope. She noticed, startled, that Voldemort was now addressing her.
"Perform a Turn, girl."
She glanced at Harry, and he was frantically warning her not to. She faced Voldemort and put on a brave face. "No."
His cold red eyes bored into her, and she felt some of her courage flee her. But she remained steadfast. As long as Harry was there, she would be fine. He would never let anything happen to her. Voldemort advanced towards her, and it was only then that she realized that she was tied down and couldn't move. "Do it."
Her knees were buckling and she was quivering in fear. "Never."
This stopped Voldemort short. "Never?" he repeated softly, in a dangerous tone of voice.
"Never," she choked out, her fear taking on a physical manifestation.
"Never say never," he warned quietly. Then, without a word, he turned quickly, pointed his wand at Harry, and calmly said, "Avada Kedavra."
She watched with horror as the green light burst from his wand and struck Harry down. "NO!" she screamed, seeing his lifeless body fall to the ground. He just couldn't be dead, he just couldn't. No, this wasn't happening. No.
But she knew it had happened. The only boy she had ever loved had just been casually murdered by the figure that stood before her now. "Perform the Turn."
No, this wasn't happening. She peered up at him numbly, unaware of the tears streaming down her face. Why? Why did he have to do it? She shook her head feebly. "No," she croaked.
He advanced upon her, and she shrunk back in fear. "Potter didn't have to die, if you'd done as I asked."
They were all going to blame her. She blamed herself. He didn't have to die. She hung her head, and whispered quietly. "Ok."
***
Ginny Weasley bolted up in bed, tears streaming down her face. Harry couldn't die. He didn't have to die. I can change this, she thought. It doesn't have to be this way. Hurriedly, she got out of bed. She was going to find Voldemort, and face him, instead of allowing herself to be kidnapped. Maybe that would change what she had just seen. Now all she had to do was find him, before he found her. She closed her eyes and watched the scene again. Ocean, cliffs, large menacing building. Azkaban, she realized grimly. Very well then.
She grabbed her cloak and her broom, then a piece of parchment and a quill. She thought very carefully about what she wanted to say and then she wrote it out, making sure that everything she needed to say was there. Reading over it once more, she decided that it was good enough, then she sprinted out of her room, down the stairs and into the common room. She looked around, noticing a few students here and there, all engaged with chess or exploding snap. Setting her broom down in a corner, she did another cursory glance around the room. No one was watching her, so she headed to the door that led to the boys' dorm and let herself in, walking up the stairs with some hesitation.
Upon reaching the dormitory of the seventh year boys, she eased herself in and quickly found Harry's bed. He was sprawled on his back, in a deep sleep. She watched him quietly for a moment, fearing that she might never see him again. Then she placed the note on his chest and kissed his forehead. "I love you Harry," she murmured to him, then quickly turned and ran out of the room, before she could change her mind.
She headed back into the common room, where she received a few second
glances because she had just come from the boys' dorm. Paying them no mind,
she grabbed her broom and walked out of the portrait hold, determined to
make sure what she had seen was not to happen.