Time Changes Everything…

A fan fiction by Pottergirl

All characters belong solely to J.K.Rowling. No copyright infringement is intended.

Before I begin my next chapter, I want to give a HUGE thanks to four reviewers who reviewed me within hours of the publishing of the first chapter!

Thanks a lot 'darkhaven', 'Mionee', 'Lotusgirl15' and 'Female Fred'. Here's the next chapter. And believe me the next three or four chapters will be up within a few days! So keep checking! (Rest of my authors notes are at the bottom)

Chapter 2: A Game Of Quidditch & The Twins Being Themselves

Harry awoke the next day to find the new hue of Ron's room refreshing and calming. The sunlight filtered through the white curtains, illuminating tiny specks of dust and signaling a bright, sunny day. He got up to find Ron's bed empty. He had already gone down for breakfast. A glance at the wall clock told him he was 'Getting late for breakfast'.

Rushing down to breakfast, Harry was quite surprised to see the Wesley table quite full. Seated around it were Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Ron, Ginny, the twins and Percy. Percy looked up to see him coming in.

'Ah Harry! How good to see you again. Join us for breakfast now, will you? It was just about getting cold.' Harry wished everyone a good morning quickly and sat down.

'So, had a good sleep? Long trip from the Dursley's yesterday, wasn't it?' asked Mr. Weasley, cheerfully.

'Oh, yes very, though I overslept,' said Harry. Mrs. Weasley smiled and turned to Harry's plate, piling up pancakes on it. He watched as she piled two… three… four…five… six-

'Uh, Mrs. Weasley, thankyou but I can't eat more than that,' he interrupted politely.

'Come on now,' said Mrs. Weasley adding three more. 'Growing kids need food, lots of it.' Harry smiled and began on his breakfast.

'Harry, you're lucky,' said Fred in a mournful voice. 'You get thirteen. I got five.'

'You just eat!' said Mrs. Weasley, her eyes flashing as she began adding more pancakes to Fred's plate. Apparently, she hadn't forgiven Fred and George yet.

Mr. Weasley put down his newspaper.

'Is Hermione arriving today?' he asked, casually. He was not aware of his son's recent infatuation with the bushy-haired girl.

Ron turned a little red though it was not due to his father's innocent mention of Hermione but because of the looks he new he was getting from the rest of the Weasleys, except Percy. Percy sat reading a supplement from the Daily Prophet, oblivious to everything else.

'Yes, dad,' said George, with a sideways glance at Ron. 'This evening, to be precise.'

'Five o clock, by Floo powder,' added Fred.

Fred opened his mouth to add something else when Mrs. Weasley gave him a glare and he decided he'd better not risk it.

'That's good,' said Mr. Weasley, sipping his tea, and popping a tiny biscuit into his mouth.

Harry looked at Ron who was staring at his plate. He seemed to be half smiling and he certainly wasn't smiling at his half-eaten breakfast. He had a dreamy, faraway look on his face. Harry grinned. It was clear. Nothing made Ron smile that way except a recent development- Hermione. There would be some very strange situations if those two did not get their feelings sorted out.

'Harry,' interrupted Fred. 'Let's go for a game of Quidditch. We need to train a keeper.' Harry looked up.

'Ron?' he asked with a grin.

'Yeah,' said George, wiping the crumbs off his plate. 'He seems to have developed an attraction towards Quidditch too, apart from other things.'

Harry and Ginny couldn't help laughing. Mr. Weasley frowned and the twins tried to ignore the glare from Mrs. Weasley.

'Kids,' said Mr. Weasley. 'Stop laughing. And Fred, there will be no Quidditch after breakfast. I want you to go and fix the creaky window of Ginny's room. Use some Fixit's Potion on it too.'

'Yeah,' said Ginny, sternly. 'It creaks and squeaks all night during a storm!'

Harry smiled. He did not know why, though.

An hour or two after breakfast, just as the sun had climbed up above their heads, shining down at them brightly, the twins, Harry, Ron and Ginny set out to their usual secluded spot for a game of Quidditch. Ginny had decided to join them for a bit of fun. She had a Cleansweep three but she was still enthusiastic about playing.

A little while later, everyone was in the air, throwing apples at each other. Fred took careful aim and threw a suspiciously dark-red apple at Ron, who was the Keeper. It hit him smack on the face and the mushy, pulpy fruit remained squashed to the side of his face.

'Amazing save, Ron!' yelled George and Harry and Ginny broke out laughing.

'Very rotten,' said Ron, wiping the rotted fruit off his face.

'Just keep that on and we'll be safe if you get on the team!' said Fred, circling above Ron.

'You-' growled Ron, and chased after his brother. Ginny broke into peals of laughter, shaking back her reddish hair which caught the sunlight to reveal the different shades of orange, scarlet and red concealed in it. Harry, who happened to be looking her way, was quite amazed for a second. It was quite spectacular that someone could have hair that had so many shades.

He was distracted by Fred, Ginny and George, laughing loudly. Ron had scooped up another batch of rotten apples from the ground, and he was pelting them, one by one, at Fred. Being the fantastic Beater he was, Fred hit them as hard as he could and most found their way to Ron, his face ending up covered in a mass of gooey, rotting apple.

Ron wiped his face dry again and turned to face the rest. He had two apples left. His eyes fell on his sister and he smiled devilishly. Ginny saw him. She backed away in mid-air, her smile fading ever so slightly. Fred and George, never tired of jokes, stepped back to let Ron do his act, chuckling expectantly. Harry looked from Ron to Ginny and he had the sudden urge to stop Ron. Somehow, the slightly terrified look on Ginny's face reminded him of when he had saved her from Tom Riddle in her first year. It made him feel very protective of her. Leaving her at her brother's mercy right now was something he just could not feel good about. He gripped his Firebolt tightly.

Ron chuckled and bolted forwards. Ginny turned around in a fraction of a second and sped off, squealing. She was laughing too along with Fred, George and Ron and Harry managed to chuckle, despite the strange knot in his stomach.  He set off slowly, following Ron and Ginny to the other end of the field.

Everything happened quickly just then. Ginny who had been heading for a clump of trees, looked back to check how far Ron was. She looked back, ahead of her but it was too late just then. Her broom hit one of the very highest branches of a tree with immense force. She passed over the tress but everyone stared at her, horrified. She was dangling from her broom, one hand gripping it only. Her broom was going out of control. Ginny was screaming. Ron yelled,

'Ginny!!' just when her broom went into a nose-dive, completely out of control. Ron urged his broom forward, desperately but a much, much faster thing whizzed past him in a blur. It dived and grabbed Ginny by her waist just before she hit the ground. Her broom smashed against the ground, splintering to pieces.

Once he was sure he had Ginny with him, Harry slowed down and pulled her onto his broom with his arm around her, the strong Firebolt easily bearing the weight of two people. Fred, George and Ron sped up that second to Harry and began asking questions at once.

'Ginny, are you alright?'

'Are you hurt?'

'That stupid old broom!'

Harry tried to bring his breath back to a calm. He had gone into a state of panic when he had seen Ginny speeding towards ground.

'Ginny, are you okay?' he asked. Ginny had an expression of shock on her face but she turned and nodded. She put an arm around Harry's neck to keep herself steady and Harry felt as if all his nerves there had gone dead, feeling at the back of his neck completely nil.

'I'm fine,' she managed to whisper. 'Can we go down now?' Harry nodded and began descending. Fred, George and Ron moved alongside, ready, should anything go wrong again. But Harry's trusty broom easily brought them down to earth in one piece. 

He and Ginny got off, and Ron rushed to Ginny.

'Gin, I'm really sorry! It was my fault there. I shouldn't have gone after you and-' he rushed.

Ginny shook her head.

'No, Ron, it wasn't your fault at all. It was mine. I should have been looking ahead of me,' she insisted.

'Still, I'm really sorry,' said Ron and turned to Harry, who was trying to straighten his hair down. 'Harry, thanks a lot for saving Ginny there. If you hadn't been there-'

Harry shook his head and gripped Ron by the shoulder.

'You would have done the same thing I did, Ron. You don't have to thank me,' he said. Ron smiled and looked back at Ginny.

'Gin, I'm really sorry-' he said again. Ginny hugged him, then moved back and said,

'Ron, it's alright, really. Forget it.' Then, she slowly turned to Harry.

'Thanks for saving me there. It was a bad drop,' she said, blushing, aware of the fact that her brothers were watching her. Harry smiled and Ron cut in-

'Gin, does this mean we'll see Harry's posters up on your walls again?' Ginny turned and dashed after Ron, leaving Fred, George and Harry on the grass, laughing.

Harry and Ron were playing chess. It was a quarter to five. Harry's castle pounced on Ron's knight, dragging him off the board. Ron didn't even seem to notice this. He looked towards the fire and then back. Harry grinned to himself. His king looked up at him.

'Either you're playing very good today or that red-head has his mind somewhere else!'

Ron looked up at that comment and blushed. Harry grinned.

'Quarter to five, Ron!' said Ginny who was sitting beside them, doing her homework.

'I know,' Ron muttered. Ginny giggled slightly. Harry looked at her and caught her eyes. She grinned knowingly, and Harry tried to stop himself from laughing out loudly at Ron's peculiar state.

Fred came in just at that moment and sat down on the couch. He winked at Harry.

'Isn't it too hot? Maybe, I should put out this fire. Who'd feel cold on this sunny-'

'No don't!' spluttered Ron quickly. Fred grinned.

'I didn't even move from my place, you idiot!' said Fred. Ron glared at Fred and Fred looked away, grinning at Ginny. Ginny decided to come to Ron's rescue and engaged Fred by asking him for some help in her homework.

Seconds and minutes passed. Ron finally sighed loudly at his chess board. Harry suppressed a chuckle.

'Okay Ron, I know you don't want to play. And anyway, I wouldn't want to ruin your winning streak now, would I?' he said.

'Oh, shut up!' Ron muttered. Mrs. Weasley called for Fred just then from the kitchen, and he got up to go. The hall clock struck five at that moment, and Fred stopped just long enough to say,

'It's five Ron!' And he disappeared into the kitchen.

The clock stopped chiming. Ginny giggled slightly and got up to go with her books. Harry busied himself, putting the chess pieces away in the hall cupboard. He looked at Ron, who was sitting on the couch now with a Daily Prophet sports supplement, holding it upside-down. He chuckled. Ginny came rushing down the stairs. She grinned and came up to Harry.

'I'd like to see this show from far away,' she said. Harry grinned too, and looked back at Ron.

'I haven't seen him like that… ever,' he said.

'Me too. Seems a bit exaggerated but, who are we to say about anything that concerns the great Ronniekins?' she said moving into the kitchen. Harry felt silly, standing in the hall, and waiting. He decided to go get some water when-

A 'poof' and Hermione appeared in the fire. She coughed and stepped out with a large bag and Crookshanks. Ron jumped up from his couch. Ginny, on instinct, came out of the kitchen.

'Hermione!' said Ron loudly and moved to her, extending his hand to help her out of the fireplace. She grinned happily and took it. Crookshanks bounded out of her arms and began sniffing about as usual.

'Hermione, how're you?' Ron asked as she dusted her blouse. She turned to him and grinned. Then, she stepped forward and hugged him. Harry chuckled slightly and Ginny giggled.

Hermione stepped back.

'I'm fine. How's everyone? Is Harry here?' she asked, looking over him.

Ron nodded.

'Harry's here. Where's your trunk?' he asked.

Hermione looked at him, with her hands on her hips.

'Do you think I'd be able to drag that thing into a fireplace? Mum and Dad will give it to me in Hogsmeade,' she said. Harry entered the room just then, followed closely by Ginny.

'Hello Hermione!' said Harry, happily. Ginny hugged Hermione quickly.

'Hello! It's so good to be back here. I mean it is the Wizarding world, and it's really different from the Muggle world. It's wonderful to be back here at your house, Ron,' said Hermione, looking around. Ron grinned.

'Thanks,' he mumbled.

'So, Hermione, you need to see Ron's room…' said Harry. Ginny nodded.

'Why, something new?' asked Hermione, putting down her bag.

'Why don't you see for yourself?' asked Ginny.

'Um… sure,' said Hermione and Ron led her up the stairs.

'That went well,' said Ginny, picking up Crookshanks and stroking his fur.

'Yeah, Ron's not as bad as I thought,' said Harry, looking over at the stairs. Fred emerged from the kitchen.

'She here?' he asked. Then his eyes fell on Crookshanks in Ginny's arm. 'Where?' he asked.

'Upstairs, seeing Ron's room,' said Ginny with a grin, and Fred took to the stairs.

'Uh, what do you think-' began Harry.

'I'd rather not think…' said Ginny and followed Fred. Harry grinned and followed her.

'Ron, your room looks wonderful. I'm glad you finally got rid of those ''CCs'', though,' said Hermione, looking around the room, just as Harry had.

'You didn't like the CCs? The Chudley Cannons?' asked Ron, motioning for her to sit down on his bed. She did and Ron sat down next to her.

'Well, they were kind of weird looking people-'

'Hermione, they were wonderful! At least… until a few months ago. They had a few replacements and now they're at the bottom of the League…' said Ron.

'Oh…' said Hermione. The "love letter" Fred and George had sent her, supposed to be addressed from Ron was weighing heavily on her mind. She knew it wasn't over between Ron and herself… there were some unsettled things… like that row on the night of the Yule Ball. Then came the love letter. Ron had rushed to say it was not from him and made it clear he meant nothing of the sort. That had kind of depressed Hermione. She liked Ron, a little… maybe a little more… or a lot. But she just did not know what to do about it. He seemed not the least interested that way in her. But today, he did seem to be paying her a lot of attention that gave Hermione a good thing to think about. Why all this attention? Or was it just her thinking… maybe it was nothing.

'So…' said Ron, ending the awkward silence but not progressing very well. Hermione smiled at him.

'So…' she imitated him. Ron smiled.

'Your room really does look good,' said Hermione again. Ron nodded.

'Thanks, I painted it myself,' he said. Hermione looked at him proudly.

'That's really good…' she said, approvingly.

Just then Fred peeped into the room. Hermione looked up at him for a second, and then, turning rather pink, she muttered,

'Hello George.'

'I'm Fred,' said Fred and entered, taking a chair to sit on. Ron gave him a warning glare to which Fred replied with an innocent look. There was silence.

'So… nice talk going on here…' said Fred. Ginny and Harry entered just then. Crookshanks jumped out of Ginny's arms into Hermione's lap where he curled up, purring softly.

'Here's a nice gathering,' said Ginny, sitting down. Harry grinned. Hermione looked up at Ron and smiled.

'Ginny, why don't you show Hermione your room?' said Ron, sensing Hermione's discomfort. He didn't blame her. Fred and George went too far sometimes in their jokes.

'Yeah, I repainted it,' said Ginny, getting the idea. 'Come and have a look.'

Hermione smiled and turned to go. Harry caught Ron glaring at his brother who looked back at him innocently.

'Maybe, I should come with you… I haven't seen Ginny's room too,' Harry said and quickly exited with Hermione and Ginny.

                                    ____________________

Sorry for no "author's notes" at the end of chapter one, I forgot those…anyway…hopefully this series is starting off well!

Chapter 3 will be up soon, hopefully : ) !! I have it written out, btw! *Grins evilly*

Meanwhile, thanks for reading and do leave a review!.

Thanks!

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http://www.gryffindortower.net/Library/Pottergirl/pottergirl.htm

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