Time Changes Everything

A fan fiction by Pottergirl

Everything belongs to J.K.Rowling, and no copyright infringement is intended.

Marvellous reviews!! Wonderful! I was so happy and excited that I started giggling! Especially "Yukito Forever" who even planned to kill me there for a moment!Thank you, everyone, really for all the reviews…I will be replying to them in my next chapter…

Here's chapter seven for all of you…review again, please and tell me if you got a good enough does of H/G as *~*Ginny Potter*~* says! (I'm soo happy!)

Chapter 5:  Realization…

Harry knew where the sob had come from. He turned around again and hurried down the corridor, coming to a corner. As he rounded the corner, what he saw shocked him.

Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle were standing to a side in the corridor, a little way down. They were surrounding a small figure – Ginny – kneeling on the ground, covering her ears with her hands.

Harry felt massive ripples of anger surge through him. He whipped out his wand, and walked down the corridor towards them. They had their backs to him, and didn't see him coming.

'Now what? You crying? No brothers here to stick up for you…or that Potter?' Malfoy jeered at Ginny.

'Don't! Go!' Ginny pleaded, her face screwed up strangely. She wasn't crying but seemed to be suffering great pain.

Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle laughed villainously.

Harry ignored the fact that he was one against three, or that his scar was now throbbing quite painfully.

'Malfoy!' he shouted out, his anger evident in his tone. All three- Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle whirled around. Malfoy's expression was shocked but a moment later, he was smirking.

'Potty…here to save Weaslet? Told you to watch out,' he said.

Harry raised his wand. Malfoy's grin faltered. He had been instructed by his father not to get into any type of duel with Harry Potter – one who had survived a duel with the Dark Lord. He took a small step backward.

'Scared, are you?' Harry asked, his voice still trembling with rage. Ginny rose to her feet, surveying the scene nervously. Harry glanced at her, then looked back at Malfoy.

'Why should I be scared of you?' said Malfoy. Harry gritted his teeth.

'If you ever pick on Ginny again, I'll make sure you -'

'What? Are you Weaslet's bodyguard now? I realize why you're with her…easy to lure isn't she, she's got no money, and you have. What did you do – drop a galleon into her pocket? Or -?'

Harry really saw red this time. He flung his wand aside, and jumped on Malfoy, pinning him to the ground. Crabbe and Goyle forgetting they were stronger than Harry, took a few steps backward.

Harry had pinned Malfoy to the ground very strongly. He held him there, breathing roughly.

'Don't you ever say that again!' he shouted at Malfoy. Malfoy looked quite scared, yet he smirked, and forgetting his own wand, he swung a blow at Harry, which hit him near his nose. Harry let out an angry growl, feeling like he had never ever felt before, and was about to retaliate, when-

'Mr. Potter! Mr. Malfoy!'

Harry got up, leaving Malfoy. He saw Professor McGonagall standing a few yards away, furious. Harry's nose was now bleeding. Malfoy got up, and dusted his robes, acting rather smug.

'What do you think you were doing? Such behavior!' McGonagall raved, walking up to them. Her eyes were red with fury.

'Professor, Malfoy-' began Harry.

'I want no explanations. Mr. Potter. No explanations. Follow me, Mr. Potter!' Professor McGonagall began to turn around when her eyes fell on Ginny. Harry felt a sharp pain in his scar as Professor McGonagall spoke.

'What are you doing here, Ms. Weasley?' she asked, trying to keep her voice calm. Harry saw Ginny look up at the Professor, then, before Professor McGonagall could say another word, she turned around and ran down the corridor, vanishing around the corner.

Professor McGonagall's rage seemed to have reached higher levels.

'Such abominable behavior from two Gryffindors!' She rounded on Harry.

'Twenty points shall be taken from Gryffindor,' she said. Harry's mouth fell open in shock. He had hardly any time to wonder Ginny's behavior and now his Head of house had deducted twenty points.

'As for you, Mr. Malfoy,' said Professor McGonagall. 'I will not assume this behavior of Mr. Potter's was unprovoked…I shall be speaking with Professor Snape about this. Meanwhile…ten points will be deducted from Slytherin. Mr. Potter, follow me!'

She turned around. Malfoy could hardly suppress his snickers as Harry passed, following her, his nose still bleeding.

'Mr. Potter, I will not be asking you to explain yourself. Whatever the reason, you do not have any right to indulge in roughhousing. Why, you were supposed to be in Hogsmeade!'

Harry looked away as Professor McGonagall glared at him from across the desk. Her office was cold and dimly lit.

'Professor, they were taunting Ginny-' he tried to explain.

'Not a word. I repeat, you have no right to indulge in any type of physical or verbal offense inside these school walls. You have broken school rules, and you will be punished. You are forbidden to use the Quidditch pitch for a week.'

Harry looked up at the Professor. She knew how much he wanted to practice, and how much the team was using the pitch. Yet, she had robbed him of it. A whole week! Harry was already quite nervous as captain, directing a team, and now this punishment. She knew how much Quidditch practices meant to him. That's why she had forbidden them for the whole week.

'But Professor-'

'No buts. And I warn you Mr. Potter, any further news of such behavior may jeopardize your own Captaincy,' said Professor McGonagall. 'You may leave now.'

 Harry got up from his chair, and walked out of the room, his anger returning.

It was Malfoy. How dare he taunt Ginny, and with such words. But why, he wondered, had Ginny run away without a word. Harry wiped the blood from his nose, and walked off, thinking. His scar had hurt him when Malfoy was speaking. Why? Why was Malfoy effecting him that way? And why was Ginny cowering on the floor when he was speaking to her, her hands over her ears?

Harry didn't realize he had been heading towards the Entrance Hall. He stopped by the great doors of Hogwarts, his mind quite blank. Oh yes…he had to go to Hogsmeade. Ron and Hermione must be worried. He knew they must be.

Harry put his hands in his cloak pockets and stepped out of the castle. It was still quite chilly, and he wished now for a big bottle of Butterbeer to warm him.

He looked up and saw, in the distance, a solitary figure standing by the lake. A figure that had vibrant red hair that blew in the cool wind. Harry quickened his pace, and was almost running by the time he reached up to the person.

'Ginny!' he said. Ginny turned around quickly. Her eyes were quite wide and he arms were crossed in front of her chest.

'Ginny, are you alright?' Harry asked with concern. Ginny nodded.

'I'm okay,' she said. She opened her mouth to say something else but then stopped.

'Ginny, Malfoy's a mad animal. Don't listen to him,' Harry said, looking at her.

'Harry, you got into trouble because of me, I shouldn't have-' Ginny began but Harry would have none of it.

'No Ginny, it wasn't your fault. Malfoy was taunting you,' he said softly, stepping closer. He suddenly realized she had no cloak on, and she was shivering, her arms folded.

'Ginny, you're cold,' he said. Ginny looked up.

'It's alright-' she said but Harry was already taking off his cloak.

The real Ginny returned, blushing slightly as Harry put his cloak around her shoulders. It was warm from his wearing it for a long time, and she instantly felt warm and cozy.

'Thank you,' she whispered, smiling at him, realizing now he was without a cloak. Harry saw the twinkle return in her eyes, and he couldn't help grinning at her. He felt butterflies rise up in his stomach as she smiled at him.

'You're cold now,' she said; in spite of the fact that she didn't trust her voice much. Harry grinned.

'Oh, a Butterbeer will take care of that definitely. Do you…want to go up to Hogsmeade? Ron and Hermione are there already,' Harry said, feeling quite cheerful again as she smiled up at him shyly.

'Okay,' she said quietly, still smiling slightly. Harry looked down at her, grinning. The wind blew some hair across her face, and he brushed it away with his hand. Only after he had done it did he realize what he had done, and felt a blush creep across his face. Ginny looked away. Harry withdrew his hand. I'm blushing.

'Ginny, are you alright? I mean, is there something you're worried about?' he asked, surprised at his own self, asking such a question so suddenly, out of no where. Ginny looked up, pulling Harry's cloak closer around herself.

'No, there's nothing. If you meant today…' Harry looked at her, his green eyes searching hers.

 '…I don't know what came over me…I just couldn't face McGonagall somehow…I can't even understand what happened…I can't believe I acted like a real…coward.' Ginny looked away, her eyebrows knitted together.

'Ginny,' Harry said softly, reaching out and touching her cheek with his hand. 'You're not a coward. It just happens…it's not your fault.'

She nodded slightly and smiled at him.

'Now what about Hogsmeade before Hermione drags Ron back here, searching for me?' asked Harry, changing the topic. Ginny giggled.

'Right,' she said, and feeling very comfortable in the warmth of Harry's cloak, the smell of it, she walked down towards Hogsmeade with him.

Harry found Ron and Hermione sitting right at the back of the Three Broomsticks, drinking Butterbeer. They seemed to be talking in low voices, their heads bent towards each other. Hermione was seen letting out a small giggle suddenly but then she spotted Harry at the door of the pub. She waved to him.

'Finally!' said Ron. 'I thought you'd never come. What took you so long?'

Then he spotted Ginny.

'Hello Ginny,' said Hermione. 'I thought you weren't coming.'

'I came along with Harry,' Ginny said, taking off Harry's cloak.

When Harry returned with Butterbeer for himself and Ginny, Ron asked,

'Harry, you know, I was thinking about this new move yesterday…it's like the Wronski Feint, and I was thinking we could try it out in tomorrow's Quidditch practice.'

Harry sat down on the bench beside Ron, thinking of how Ron would react if he found out that Quidditch practice for the whole week had been forbidden for Gryffindor.

'Er, Ron…' said Harry, looking at his butterbeer.

'What?' asked Ron.

'Well, we won't be practicing this week,' said Harry, looking up. Ron had a bewildered expression on his face.

'Why? But we were supposed to be trying out lots of new moves and I just checked at the Bookstore. The weather's going to be sunny all week. We could have really good practice!' he said.

'No, we can't,' said Harry.

'Slytherin using it again?'

'No, it's just that McGonagall forbid me to use it this week because I got into a fight with Malfoy,' said Harry. Ginny put down her bottle of Butterbeer, and looked up. She hadn't known Harry had gotten punishment. Like that.

'What?! Fight with Malfoy? When? Where?' asked Ron quickly.

'A little while ago. Mc Gonagall saw Malfoy and I fighting, and she forbid me to use the pitch the whole of next week as punishment,' Harry grumbled. Ron still looked quite thunderstruck.

'But why were you fighting? How serious was it?' Hermione asked, wondering how many school rules he had broken.

'Nothing, he gave me a hard blow, and I was just about to hit him when McGonagall saw us,' said Harry, not wanting to tell Ron that Malfoy had been insulting his sister.

'Wow, I mean. You two were actually fighting. 'Wish I could be there,' said Ron. 'What happened Harry? Why did you fight?'

Harry looked up at Ginny who met his eyes for a second and then looked at her Butterbeer.

'Malfoy was saying some bad things,' Ginny spoke up. Ron looked at her.

'Were you there?' he asked, her eyes not wandering away from her for even a second. Ginny nodded.

'Ginny, if he said something to you, I'm not going to leave that-'

'Ron, forget it. It wasn't worth it. Harry's already lost Quidditch practice…because of me,' Ginny interrupted, looking downcast.

'Ginny,' Harry said, putting his Butterbeer down. 'It wasn't because of you. We were fighting. You didn't do anything.'

'Harry,' said Ron, his eyes narrowed. 'What did Malfoy say?'

'Ron, you know Malfoy. Let's try and forget it,' said Harry warily. Ron looked away.

'Fine but if anything ever happens again, I'm going to wring his neck,' Ron said, his ears red.

'So, what about the new moves you were telling us about, Ron? Did you check them out?' asked Harry, wanting to change the topic.

The day at Hogsmeade had been fun, even if there was quite some unpleasantness preceding it. Harry rolled over on his bed and closed his eyes. His nose brushed the pillow and he winced. Malfoy had struck rather hard, and Harry was sure his nose would be black and blue the next morning.

But, he decided, he should have hit Malfoy in return. If only McGonagall hadn't come along just then. How dare Malfoy insult Ginny.

Harry felt himself getting angry again. He clenched his fists. Ginny seemed so vulnerable. But why? She had been fine during the holidays, and even different. She seemed open…friendly, unexpected…but today…she had seemed… strange, distant, and rather meek. Why had she run away from McGonagall?

Harry rolled over on to his back. Ginny…his whole impression of Ginny had changed over the holidays. She was so different from the rest of her family. She had a ready temper like Ron's but apart from that, she was quite different. Her eyes twinkled but not like Fred and George's. The twinkle in her eyes reflected her unexpected character and liveliness. She was always ready to giggle. Or annoy her brothers.

Harry smiled. Ginny was nice…really nice. How had he never seen her before? Every time he visited the Burrow, she was there, reading, helping her mother out in the kitchen, and watching the Weasley's game of Quidditch or following himself, Ron and Hermione around, though rarely. How had he missed her?

Harry got up, and went to his trunk, at the foot of his bed. Twilight fell on it from the large, grilled windows and he bent down to open it. He rummaged about through his old things and finally his hands found what he was looking for. A small card with 'Get Well' written on the front in bright, sparkling-green, lacy letters. Harry smiled. Ginny had given him that card when he was in his second year. Unthinkingly, he flipped it open, and a loud singing sound, which looked rather like wailing filled the room. Harry shut it quickly, and listened for anyone who might have woken up. There was silence. He let out a sigh of relief, and shut his trunk. Silently, he went back to bed, dreaming of only one person. A person with beautiful red hair, and a pretty smile.

Hermione seemed quite excited. She had an ever present smile on her face and she looked quite in a hurry to get to breakfast.

'What is it Hermione? Tell us,' said Ron. 'I know that look. It means you know something we do not.'

'You can find out for yourself,' said Hermione, glad he'd at least noticed that she was excited. Ron turned to her, looking at her with puppy eyes.

'Please? Just because you're prefect, and you get to know so many things before us doesn't mean you hide them from us too,' he said.

'I can't tell you. You'll find out in a moment. At breakfast.'

As breakfast ended, Professor Dumbledore stood up, speaking loudly.

'I have an announcement to make. Can I have your attention for a moment please?'

A hush fell across the hall.

'Now can you tell us?' Ron whispered to Hermione. She sighed.

'No. Just listen.'

'As we all know, there are two weeks left for Christmas,' said Dumbledore. 'This year, I have the pleasure of announcing, a ball, the Christmas Ball will be held at Hogwarts.'

Excited whispers broke out across the room initiated by the girls. Some of the boys were irritated. The Yule Ball the previous year had seemed like a problem to many; when they had to go looking for dates. Ron looked at Hermione who seemed to be extremely excited by the whole idea. He grinned at her. A Ball wasn't too bad after all if you had a date. It could actually be fun.

Harry had been quite surprised. A Ball? He had thought. Again? He couldn't go around Cho Chang again, asking her for a date. It had been tough enough last time and he had been unsuccessful. But as Harry looked up, he thought of something.

Why did he want to take Cho after all? Why Cho? Because she was pretty? Why not-

Harry's head snapped up. Before he could even think upon the matter, Dumbledore resumed speaking, waving his hand to hush the hall.

'The Ball takes place on Christmas Day. The Hogwarts express leaves the day before, on Christmas evening for everyone who wishes to go home for the holidays. A small trip to Hogsmeade will take place on the weekend before Christmas for all those of you who need anything from there. And I should inform you that this year, the Weird Sisters will be returning along with the singer Celestina Warbeck. I am sure this Ball will be extremely entertaining and a change from routine, and that most of Hogwarts will attend it.'

Dumbledore left the hall and louder, excited whispers and conversations broke out again.

'That seems quite a lot of fun you know,' said Ron. He particularly liked the Weird Sisters - and food. He was sure there would be loads of food in the Ball and so he was quite eager.

Harry was thinking too. He knew whom he wanted to take to the Ball. He should have known this. Why had his mind leapt upon Cho Chang immediately? Why was he making the same mistake- the mistake of overlooking what lay right in front of him. Something - someone whom he had begun to like a lot, and dearly.

Ginny Weasley.

Harry looked over at Ginny. She was frowning. Harry looked at her intently. What happened? He made his way through the crowd towards her. The other Gryffindors were leaving but she was still in her place, frowning at her plate.

'Ginny, are you okay?' he asked, bending down. Her head snapped up. She looked into his eyes, not saying anything. Her expression was blank.

'Ginny?' asked Harry, his concern growing. He sat down on the bench beside her, not breaking eye contact. Her gaze followed his, and her mouth was hanging open slightly. Harry took her hand in his.

'Ginny, are you okay?' he asked quickly. Ron and Hermione came up from behind.

'What?' asked Ron.

'It's Ginny. She's not replying,' Harry said quickly. He raised his hand to her cheek.

'Ginny?' he asked, louder than before, and her eyes left his for a second. She looked back at him and shook her head. She looked as if her head was spinning as she grabbed onto Harry's arms for support.

'Gin!' Ron exclaimed and bent down beside her.

'What?' asked Ginny in a casual voice. She noticed Harry's hand, touching her cheek, and blushed. Harry removed his hand immediately, and bent closer.

'Ginny? Are you okay?' he asked again.

'I'm fine. I haven't been able to sleep well yesterday night, and I guess I just drifted off for a second,' she said, and got up.

'But your eyes were open. Are you sure you're okay?' asked Hermione. Ginny nodded. 'I am.' She gathered her books.

'Gin you-' began Ron but Ginny turned to him and fixed him with a deadly cold glare.

'Don't you dare,' she hissed, and walked away stiffly.

Harry, Ron and Hermione were quite taken aback. Ron turned to Harry and Hermione.

'What was that supposed to mean?'

Harry shrugged and rubbed his twinging scar thoughtfully.

'Ah, my dears…breathe deeply, and see! See with your Inner eye. Close your eyes and try to travel through the mist surrounding your Inner eye. Try to focus all your aura on your Inner eye.'

'If I close my eyes any longer, I'll drift off to sleep,' Ron muttered to Harry. A loud snore broke through the silence, and Harry, Ron and Seamus could not contain their laughter when they saw Neville, his eyes closed and his mouth hanging open, lost in deep sleep.

They were supposed to be studying dreams and visualizations and since they could not very well all go off to sleep, they were supposed to be interpreting the various visualizations that drifted through their minds when they closed their eyes. Their Inner eyes.

'Professor Trelawney,' said Lavender excitedly. 'You wouldn't believe it. I just saw this great unicorn, and its wings were all-' Professor Trelawney went over to Lavender and Parvati who were sitting together.

Ron groaned. 'We've go a half and hour left to pass…I don't know how much more silly this can get. Unicorns, honestly!'

Harry nodded. He was as impatient in Divination as Ron. Ron yawned silently and then turned to Harry.

'Who're you taking to the Ball, Harry?' he asked casually. Harry looked at him.

'I don't know yet. I mean I know who I would like to take but-'

'Cho Chang again?' asked Ron, knowing the answer already. Harry shook his head, and this made Ron sit up.

'Wait a second. Who have you suddenly begun to like? A person I haven't seen yet?' he asked, grinning.

'Someone,' said Harry, turning slightly red. Ron looked at him for a moment.

'Harry, if you mean Hermione,' said Ron, narrowing his eyes, which were now sparkling with mischief. 'You can think again because she's taken.'

Harry chuckled.

'I know about you two…I'd me mad putting myself into a fight with you deliberately.'

'Well, okay,' said Ron, grinning at him. 'Who's it then? Come on Harry, I'm your best friend!'

'I can't tell yet,' said Harry determinedly. He had yet to think the matter over. He could not imagine how Ron would react when he found out…

Review please now, if you want the next chapter quickly!! (A lot of H/G in that, I must say, to tempt you! He he, I'm still in a very happy mood!)