Disclaimer: Seriously, not mine.
Chapter 18
Harry reached into his jacket pocket for Zachariah's wand. Not wanting to waste time, Harry pointed the wand over his shoulder and shouted "Stupefy!"
Just as Harry said the incantation, Ginny had flattened herself on the bed, pulling Harry down with her. The stunning spell hit the closet door across the room, leaving a large hole and splinters of wood littering the floor.
Harry heard the familiar, explosive noise from his dream, and felt a bullet whiz past his head. It could not have missed him by more than two centimeters, as Harry swore he felt it catch briefly in his hair. Harry looked up to see what he'd known was there all along, Signore Garibaldi standing in the doorway, holding out his silver pistol. A crowd of guests from the ball was beginning to form behind the small, stout man in the doorway.
Harry jumped to his feet, standing on the bed as Ginny, who was completely defenseless without magic, hurried to duck behind the bed, out of Signore Garibaldi's line of fire. Harry lifted his wand and pointed it at the gunman, his face full of determination. He soon realized that cursing the man was futile. From the distance at which he stood, Signore Garibaldi could easily pull the trigger before any spell would touch him. Signore Garibaldi seemed aware of this fact as well.
"I told you to stay away from my daughter!" Signore Garibaldi shouted, his voice raspy with anger, his face turning purple and the usual vein in his neck throbbing.
"And I told you that you couldn't make me!" Said Harry defiantly, leaping behind the bed and landing next to Ginny as he uttered the last word, able to foresee the anger his actions would instill in Signore Garibaldi. Harry had been right to hide, as he heard another loud bang, which hit the pole supporting the canopy above the bed, causing the large drapery to collapse over the bed, fully covering himself and Ginny. All too soon, the canopy lifted, revealing Signore Garibaldi's infuriated face, no completed by another throbbing vein in his forehead. Both Harry and Ginny turned to look at Signore Garibaldi, Ginny remaining in between the two men.
"Signore, please, I'm begging you, don't harm him, I love him." Ginny pleaded.
"And what are the chances this will work?" Harry thought as he sat hopeless, listening to Ginny bargain for his life. Only then did he notice her finger was on his leg, tracing random shapes. "Or are they random shapes?" Harry thought, focusing intently on his leg. Ginny was indeed writing something. Harry concentrated with all his might, while Ginny continued to stall by whimpering to Signore Garibaldi.
"S-s-su-sum-summon, summon g-g-gu-gum! Summon gum! Summon gum?" Harry thought, dumbfounded.
"Summon gum?" He whispered questioningly into Ginny's ear. Ginny let out an exasperated sigh and continued to grovel at Signore Garibaldi's feet, though it was clear he was not going to stand for it much longer.
"Summon…gum…" Harry thought again, "Summon gum…of course! Summon gun!" Harry raised his wand behind Ginny's back and whispered "Accio gun!" Ginny's posture straightened in apparent happiness as she heard Harry whisper the summoning charm.
The pistol flew from Signore Garibaldi's hand, but before Harry could catch it, Ginny had grabbed it. The gun was now pointed at Signore Garibaldi's chest.
"Lucia, I was only trying to protect you." Signore Garibaldi shouted harshly.
"I don't need to be protected from the man I love, he would never hurt me." Said Ginny sternly.
"Lucia, you know that this man is a wizard, but do you understand what that entails? Do you know how dangerous he is? I have no choice, I have to kill him, give me the pistol." Signore Garibaldi grunted forcefully, holding out his hand to Ginny.
Harry raised his wand, pointing it over Ginny's head at Signore Garibaldi and conjured ropes, binding Signore Garibaldi's ankles, as well as his wrists behind his back. The short man fell to the floor instantly, struggling against the ropes, but unable to do anything.
Outside the door, Maria had parted through the crowd and rushed into the room, Josefina at her heels. Maria immediately knelt beside her husband, pleading for him to be all right.
"We haven't hurt him, Maria, we only stopped him from killing Zachariah." Said Ginny dropping the gun, which landed near Signore Garibaldi's hands. Signore Garibaldi was able to reach the gun, and struggled to aim it at Harry before it could be summoned out of his reach once again. He fired the last shot recklessly. Everyone in the vicinity turned to stare at Signore Garibaldi, only to see that he had been too confident in his aim. Deep red blood was oozing from Signore Garibaldi's own side and seeping through his shirt. The last sound Harry and Ginny heard before the room began to spin around them, was Maria's scream.
Harry and Ginny landed in a familiar dusty cave. The cave just outside of Hogsmeade where they'd been attacked by Death Eaters and sent back to Zachariah and Lucia's time. The cave walls were cracked and the floor was in complete disarray. It was clearly evident that the Death Eater attack had continued after Harry and Ginny disappeared.
"We're back." Harry smiled looking around the cave, "But did Signore Garibaldi die?" he asked as an afterthought.
"Maybe he did, maybe that's why we're back. Zachariah and Lucia are safe." Said Ginny.
"We're back in our normal clothes too!" Harry exclaimed, looking down at his Hogwarts uniform.
"We really did just jump into and then out of their lives didn't we?" Ginny asked.
"It seems that way." Harry paused. "Er…I guess we better get back to school."
They left the cave and trudged into Hogsmeade village. They knew immediately they had not returned during a Hogsmeade weekend, as there were no Hogwarts students to be seen. The pair walked in silence all the way back to the castle. When they entered the castle, both felt immediately at home. Except for one thing, the corridors were completely empty. Everyone was in class.
"I suppose we should find Dumbledore then." Said Ginny looking around. Harry nodded and headed for Dumbledore's office. He and Ginny approached the stone gargoyle, but before Harry had a chance to try and guess the new password, the spiral stairway was revealed, and Harry and Ginny hurried up into Dumbledore's office. When they reached the top, they found Dumbledore seated at his desk, surrounded by boxes and piles of what looked to be extremely fascinating junk.
"Welcome back, Harry, Miss Weasley." Dumbledore smiled at them, the familiar twinkle in his eye. "I've just been doing a bit of spring cleaning." He said, indicating the mess.
"We've had the pleasure of hosting here at Hogwarts Miss Garibaldi, and for the second time, Mr. Butarelli." Dumbledore continued.
"So they were here then? But Lucia's a muggle, how did they manage?" Ginny asked incredulously.
"When she took over your life Miss Weasley, she also acquired your powers. I presume that you lost your powers when you were transported to her life?" Dumbledore asked rhetorically.
"How do you know what happened to us?" Harry inquired.
"Well, you've managed to save the life of a very good friend of mine. Zachariah Garibaldi was one of the first students I ever taught through all seven years as Transfiguration professor here at Hogwarts."
"Whatever happened to him?" Ginny asked timidly, not sure if she really wanted to hear the answer.
"Well, about a century ago, he told me a fantastic story of being sent to the future, and returning to his own life in the midst of a heated argument in his fiancé's home, her father had just been killed." Dumbledore explained.
"That's just when we left, after Signore Garibaldi was shot we were transported back here." Harry explained.
"That is because the threat was gone. Though it has long been written in text books, there is very little proof that simultaneous time travel will switch the users of the time turners, though it seems that you two were sent back with the knowledge of what would happen so that you could save Zachariah." Said Dumbledore.
"So were Lucia and Zachariah able to marry? Lucia's mother was against their union as well." Said Ginny.
"It seems that after Signore Garibaldi was killed, a Miss Josefina Malone was able to convince Lucia's mother that the marriage should be allowed." Dumbledore began, "According to Zachariah, they were allowed to marry as long as he kept his magic hidden. Unfortunately, Zachariah could not manage this, and they moved to Hogsmeade after Zachariah finished his healer training. He is now a rather famous healer working at St. Mungos."
"And Lucia?" Ginny inquired, rather interested in the girl whose life she had lived.
"Alas, she was a muggle, so her life expectancy was short. She passed away about thirty-five years ago." Said Dumbledore.
"Did they have any children?" Ginny asked.
"Yes, three boys. All attended Hogwarts, though I have not heard from them in years."
"Professor, we thought this might have had something to do with Voldemort." Harry stated nervously, but relaxed upon seeing the amused twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes.
"No, Harry, I believe you were switched strictly to save each other, there was no dark magic at work."
"Excuse me, but save each other?" Harry asked.
"Yes, in fact, Zachariah put up quite a fight against the Death Eaters in Hogsmeade. He even managed to get the Lestranges sent back to Azkaban with trustworthy guards watching them at all times." Harry grinned in response to this good news. "You should know, Harry, that Zachariah has been studying the transformations Tom Riddle used, as well as curse scars for the last ninety years. Most now believe him to be a seer for having known the importance of these things in the future, but between the three of us, he practically failed Divination." Dumbledore smiled cheerfully at them again.
"Did Ron and Hermione know what happened to us?" Ginny asked the question they'd both been dying to have answered.
"They knew as much as I did." Dumbledore replied. "It's just about time for dinner now, and I'm sure you'd like to see your friends again."
"Yes." Ginny started, "Thank you for everything, Professor." Dumbledore nodded kindly in response, and Harry and Ginny set off for the Great Hall.
Harry and Ginny entered the Great Hall to find Ron and Hermione already seated across from each other. Harry sat next to Ron, and Ginny next to Hermione.
"So, Ron, heard from Scabbers lately?" Harry said jokingly.
"That's ridiculous, why would I have heard from—" Ron started but stopped short and stared, "You're back, it's really you!" Ron shouted clapping Harry on the back, as Hermione hugged Ginny. Ron and Hermione jumped up and switched sides of the table, Ron hugging his sister, and Hermione practically knocking Harry out of his chair with her embrace.
"We're so glad to see you, we found your letter and we worried we'd never see you again." Said Hermione dramatically.
"Speaking of that letter—" Ron started.
Harry cut him off, "Look, I know you don't like Ginny dating, but I won't do anything wrong I swear."
"I was going to say, that you're better than those stupid prats she's gone out with in the past." Said Ron, "But I'm still going to keep my eye on you!" He added as an afterthought.
"It's great to have you two back." Said Hermione, glowing, as they all began to settle in and eat. Dinner passed quickly, and Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione returned to the common room, where they stayed up late into the night while Harry and Ginny relayed their story to Ron and Hermione. Around one in the morning, Hermione and Ginny kissed Ron and Harry goodnight, and headed for the girls' dormitory. Ron and Harry decided to go up to bed as well. Once they got ready for bed and climbed under the covers, Harry remembered something that seemed ancient history in his mind after everything that had happened lately.
"Ron?" Harry asked.
"Yeah?" Ron answered groggily.
"Next time Trelawney makes a prediction, maybe I'll take it seriously." Said Harry, remembering how she'd said he would leave in a few days. He'd taken it as one of her death predictions, but now that he thought about it, she never had said he'd die. Ron laughed in response to Harry's comment, and they both drifted off into a restful sleep.
Author's Note: Well, there you have it, that's really the end of the story. There will be a little bit of an epilogue, just because it was hard to fit a really complete ending into this chapter, but the story itself is complete. The epilogue will pretty much tie up the loose ends in Harry and Ginny's relationship, because doing it in this chapter would not have fit. I'm so glad that people enjoyed this, and I hope you didn't hate the ending, thus ruining the whole story. Thanks to everyone who reviewed along the way!