July 31st, 1998

Florian and Adorabella Greengrass were stuck up and snobbish just like the Malfoy family, but they managed to steer clear of any involvement with dark magic at all costs to protect their image. When Harry was born, the Potters asked Florian and Adorabella for protection in exchange for their children to marry at the age of 18. Given that Harry was only a half-blood, the Greengrasses were hesitant to accept, but when they found out about all of the money they had, they were quick to change their minds. Their fortune was dwindling, but they were unwilling to change their lavish ways. They figured that staying wealthy was worth it, even if it meant that their daughter might be unhappy.

On July 31st, they sent a house elf to the Burrow with the clear instruction of "bringing Harry Potter back at all costs". Their house elf, Effy, apparated to the exact location in seconds. She ended up in a swampy area with muddy water covering her up to her knees almost, but she trudged through it anyway to make it to the front door. All the while, she kept uttering to herself the same three words over and over again.

"Bring Potter back…bring Potter back…bring Potter back…"

She scratched her head while staring at the door and trying to figure out who to alert them someone was outside. Effy wasn't used to doors, but her masters strictly forbade her from using magic to enter without permission. Eventually someone tried to go outside, and that someone was Ginny. "Who are you?" She asked the elf.

"Back Potter bring!" Effy shouted, clearly in a state of nervousness. Ginny furrowed her eyebrows at the elf and tilted her head to the side in confusion. "My apologies…miss…but I must bring Potter with me…"

"Where to?" She asked. "He doesn't have anything on his schedule for the next two weeks." She knew this because he told her. Currently he was upstairs sleeping in Ginny's bedroom while Hermione watched Ron practice his Auror training outside. Besides, she didn't want Harry to go anywhere. "I'm afraid you'll have to leave now-"

"BRING POTTER BACK!" She cried out in frustration. Her masters were very clear about this, and she had to do what she was told, regardless. "Bring Potter back! Bring Potter back! I must bring Potter back to my masters!" Ginny struggled with the elf as she tried getting past her, and it was annoying. For some reason this elf was very persistent to get Harry, and Ginny didn't understand why.

Mrs. Weasley appeared behind her while drying her hands out on a rag, and Hermione crept to the front of the house after hearing the yelling. "What's going on?" Mrs. Weasley asked, and the elf finally ceased. "Who is this? What do you want?"

"She's trying to take Harry somewhere." Ginny answered, and then she snapped at Effy, "Who, mind you, is sleeping!"

Things had finally calmed down for Harry, and life was getting back to normal in some ways. He was back together with Ginny, living at the Burrow, and becoming an Auror. The depression didn't hit so hard anymore, and he stopped having nightmares about Voldemort coming back somehow. He also stopped blaming himself for everyone dying, like Cedric and Fred, and he was able to forgive himself. Of course, he wouldn't have been able to do it without the help of Hermione and the Weasley's, who had all been through hell and back as well.

Harry stirred a little in his sleep because of the noise coming from downstairs, but he tried to not be annoyed about it. It was mid morning time, and there was no point in sleeping in so late even though he desperately needed the extra sleep. Part of the reason he didn't get up already was because the pillowcases smelled like Ginny's hair. So floral and pretty. But falling back asleep proved to be quite difficult, and he couldn't ignore what was going on downstairs anymore. The voices were getting louder by the second, like there was some argument going on.

He tiptoed down the stairs and rubbed his eyes at the same time. As soon as he reached the bottom, where the voices were the loudest, he blinked a few times at the front door where the Weasley's and Hermione were physically restraining a small, grey creature. He thought he was seeing things at first, but he wasn't. "What's going on?" He asked them all. Their heads shot up at the sound of his voice, and there seemed to be some sort of panic in their expressions. Immediately, Harry assumed it to be an attack, so he whipped out his wand and aimed it right at the little elf without hesitation.

"Stupefy!"

They dropped Effy because of her struggle, and luckily no one else got in the way of the spell. He looked down at the ground at her, and then up at the Weasley's. "Potter…bring Potter…bring Potter back…" She started to murmur. Generally, her masters were very kind to Effy, but Florian was known to be short tempered. "I must bring Potter back."

Harry furrowed his eyebrows, "What?" He asked her. "Bring me where?"

"She won't tell us." Ginny replied, "She just keeps saying the same thing over and over."

Effy crawled towards Harry and reached out for his pants leg, but he stepped back quickly just in case she tried to apparate him. "I must…" she whispered, "I must bring you back."

"Bring me back where? I don't want to go anywhere, I don't even know you-"

"To the Greengrass manor, sir!" Effy explained, though there was still much confusion in the room. "Master says you are to be married by noon tomorrow, as promised! Bring Potter back…back Potter bring…"

All at once, everyone shouted the same thing; "MARRIED?!" It was so loud that the entire Burrow must've shook. It was difficult to say who was the most surprised, but the tie was for Harry and Ginny. An explosion went off inside their heads at the same time, and neither could quite comprehend the fact that the word "married" wasn't also involved in the same sentence as both their names.

"I'm not getting married…to ANYONE!" Harry shouted. "That's completely absurd! I'm not going anywhere, so you might as well leave before I-"

"N-no sir! You must get married!" Effy insisted, "My master says it's been decided since you were born, sir…"

"Before I was…" Harry muttered while trying to make sense of this. Only, nothing quite added up. "Who on earth said that?" He finally demanded.

"Your parents, sir!" She claimed. It sounded very far-fetched, but Harry couldn't help but wonder if there was any truth to it. Greengrass? He couldn't be sure, but that name sounded familiar. "Bring Potter back…bring Potter back…" She kept murmuring, and it was very annoying to everyone. Mrs. Weasley was so flustered and red in the face that Harry thought she would blast Effy out of the room any second. Ron and Hermione were scratching their heads, and Ginny was pale. On top of that, she felt sick to her stomach.

"Can we…just a moment, please?" Harry tried asking the elf politely, and it seemed to have worked since she backed out of the doorway right after. Mrs. Weasley slammed the door shut and shouted at her not to come back, but they all knew she was still out there. Elves were very obedient to their masters, and they were magical, so it was kind of hard to force them to stay away. Once they were alone, he looked at the rest of the family and said, "Maybe I should go with her."

"Harry, no!" Hermione chimed in with a scolding expression on her face. "It might be a trick. Not Voldemort…but what about Malfoy? Or another Death Eater?"

He sighed. "Well, I've got to see then, don't I?" He was only met with disapproving looks, and one very sad one from Ginny. She was afraid of losing her Harry again, and right when things were looking well for them. "If it isn't a trap then I'll just meet whoever her master is, explain that it must be a mistake, and then the whole thing is in the past. We can move on." When he said the last part, he was talking only to Ginny. She wanted to trust Harry, but she wasn't rationally thinking at the moment.

"I'll go with you." Ron offered.

"No, that's alright-"

"Mate," he ignored Harry's refusal and kept speaking. "We're Auror's, remember? 'Spose you need some help if they are death eaters…who better to accompany you?"

Harry was still reluctant, but he agreed anyway. "Fine, we'll go together. That way if something happens then we'll be able to properly handle it." So it was decided, and not another word was spoken about it until Ginny found Harry alone. Effy waited downstairs with a cup of tea that Mrs. Weasley gave her while waiting. She grabbed his hand and gave him a pleading look. He sighed once again while giving her hand a gentle squeeze. "I'm sorry, Gin, but I have to go and straighten this out."

"But what if you don't come back?" She asked him immediately after, as her doubts and worst fears started to settle in, and they felt like old friends at this point.

He forced a chuckle to try and ease her worry, but it didn't help much. "I always do, don't I?" Now, this did comfort her in a way. There was truth to it, and the truth meant everything. "I promise, nothing bad will happen."

She bit her lip nervously before asking, "Will you be back before I leave for Hogwarts?"

"Of course-"

"But what if you're not?" She blurted out. Then they wouldn't see each other until Christmas, and that was too long.

"Then I'll sneak into Hogwarts and see you." He teased, and then he kissed her tenderly on the cheek, which brought a little bit of colour back to her face. "There's nothing to worry about. Aren't you getting the least bit tired of worrying over me?"

Ginny laughed. "No, I don't think that will ever happen." Then she reached out and brushed some hair out of his face. Her smile fell, and she moved in quickly to plant a rough kiss against his lips. Though unexpected, it certainly wasn't unwanted. "I'm going to miss you."

He chuckled, "You talk as if I'm gone forever." The look in her eyes told him that that was exactly what she was thinking, though, and he felt bad for laughing. "I promise, I'll be back before you know it."

Effy was still downstairs having an uncomfortable conversation with Mrs. Weasley when Harry and Ginny finally joined them. Hermione made sure Ron had enough packed to last him through the trip, and she kissed Harry's cheek. "Good luck." She told him, "And be careful. Both of you." This would be one of the rare occasions when Hermione didn't accompany them, so it felt like a good time to bond. Ron and Harry didn't get much time alone together anymore since Hermione and Ginny moved into their hearts.

"We're ready." Harry told Effy.

"Him, sir?" She asked while looking at Ron.

"Yes. We're both coming."

"Okay, sir…bring Potter back…bring Potter back…and friend…"

Before apparating, Harry sent a wink towards Ginny. She returned a smile that didn't fully reach her eyes, and then the three women were left alone in the living room in the blink of an eye. Ginny ran upstairs, and Hermione sat in the corner of the room. Mrs. Weasley went to the kitchen to occupy herself somehow, but trouble ran through her mind. Just when things were getting back to normal, something else happened. There was no definitive proof that this was a dangerous situation, but nobody could shake off the uneasiness.

Arthur returned home later that evening with no information about today's events until his wife included him on it. They knew so little, but it seemed like such a big problem. "Married?" Arthur asked her, "Who on earth would he be getting married to?"

"Didn't say." She replied with a shrug, "Though, the elf did mention a surname, I believe."

"What was it?"

"Greengrass."

Arthur knew of Greengrass, but only one family. Florian and Adorabella were wealthy pure-bloods like the Malfoy's, and they had two daughters. One was a year below Ginny, and the other was the same year as Harry, Ron, and Hermione. He could only assume that- if it were true- then it would be the one in the same year as Harry. He didn't know much about the family, but they seemed to hold power in the wizard community.

They settled into bed side-by-side, and Arthur straightened out his paper. "Well, I'm sure they can handle it." He reassured his wife, who was still bothered by it.

"I hope you're right."

He did, too.