Disclaimer: This story is provided by the author 'as is' and does not contain or represent any expressed or implied ownership of any fictional characters and/or creatures created by J.K.Rowling.
"Has mum given you trouble about the pool table yet?" Ginny asked into the fireplace to her father as Harry silently crept into his wife's office. He quickly put his finger to his lips to signal Arthur to ignore him.
"Well, yes," admitted Arthur, trying his best to not look over Ginny's shoulder, "She transfigured it into a couch. But she still doesn't know about the toaster... Anyway, I'll talk to you later. Say hi to Harry for me."
As soon as Arthur retreated into the fire, Harry put his arms around Ginny's waist and kissed her on the neck from behind.
"Oooh, Neville," Ginny sighed.
Harry involuntarily stiffened and sputtered, "Neville?"
Ginny turned around and giggled. "That was a little too easy."
"Not funny," Harry said, shaking his head in disbelief.
"That doesn't stop you from your lame department of mysteries joke," Ginny retorted with a smile.
"What are you talking about?" Harry asked back, "That joke is unspeakably funny!"
Ginny crossed her arms, but couldn't help but smile a little. "What did Dumbledore say?"
Harry sat down, his humor gone. "The sphere has been opened."
"What?" Ginny gaped, "So You-Know-Who is out?" Ginny quickly walked over to the fireplace, probably to make the same calls Harry had intended in his office.
"Wait," Harry pleaded, "It's not what you think."
Ginny stared at him incredulously. "What do you mean?"
Harry took a deep breath before explaining. "The sphere was actually broken many years ago. However, Dumbledore thinks that Voldemort broke it himself."
Ginny's brow furrowed. "How did Voldemort break it from the inside? He didn't even have a wand."
"He didn't break it from the inside." Seeing the confusion on his wife's face, Harry explained, "Dumbledore thinks Voldemort was broken out by a future version of himself. That's why there haven't been very many death eater attacks – he's building up his strength to travel back in time and open the sphere himself."
"Then where's the other one?" Ginny asked.
It was Harry's turn to be confused. "What do you mean, 'the other one'?"
Ginny slowly said, "You know that it's impossible to travel forward in time. So if Voldemort traveled back in time to release himself, there will be two of him. One who was released from the sphere however many years ago. And an older one that has already gone back in time. Where's the older one, then?"
Harry grimaced, realizing he hadn't thought this through. "Er, I don't know. Maybe he's just staying out of the way until his plan succeeds?"
Ginny thought a minute. "We need to ask Hermione. She knows the most about this type of thing."
"No," Harry decided. "The main problem isn't how time unfolds. I only need to worry about two things. Where and when Voldemort will open the portal, and how do I stop him before he does it."
"I?" Ginny fumed, "What makes you think you're doing this alone?"
"Because this is my fault!" Harry yelled.
Ginny's mouth hung open in shock; Harry had never raised his voice before to her. "I'm sorry," Harry softly said.
"I don't know how this is your fault," Ginny firmly said.
Harry sighed. Only Dumbledore and Hermione knew about his moment of weakness twenty years ago. "You don't know what happened at the end of my seventh year."
"Yes I do," insisted Ginny, "You sealed Voldemort up so he couldn't get out."
"That's not everything," Harry quietly explained, "When I was about to seal the sphere, I was overcome by fury. I wanted to put that… that… I wanted to put Voldemort through all the pain he put everyone else through. I filled that sphere with suffering."
"So?" Ginny asked, "What's wrong with that? He certainly deserved it!"
"But don't you see?" pleaded Harry, "If I hadn't done that, Voldemort might not have escaped. And Dumbledore says that if I had filled it with kindness… Tom Riddle might have been salvaged."
"You still haven't explained why you're going to do this alone," Ginny pointed out.
"I'm only going to Hogwarts to investigate," Harry said. "I'll just be going over for several hours each day to spend in the library. It's not going to be dangerous, and you still have to go to work."
Ginny complained "I can take a few we…"
"Ginny," Harry softly said, "I'm not going to do anything stupid."
Ginny finally relented and with a smile said, "That will be a first."
Harry replied primly, "That was unspeakably rude!"
"Fine. You can go alone," Ginny said firmly, "provided you give up that horrid joke!"
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A/N: Wow, I've already started getting some conspiracy theories; Nora Joss and Dumbledore have already fallen under suspicion. Keep 'em coming!
A/N2: I'm starting to get really excited about this story, and actually have it all mapped out. So I'll be updating more often now.
Lakergurl13: Actually, Dumbledore believes that Voldemort only travels in time once – just to go back and release himself from the sphere. Hopefully this chapter explained it a little better.
Olivia: Wow – you're the first that says they like the cliffhangers. Well, to tell you the truth, I've generally avoided them, but I'm not really that worried. If I was updating once a month, I might care.
Kaelli: Nora = Evil? Hmmm… I'm glad you like Dumbledore's escape!
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