A Draught in Time:

Chapter 5

-dutchtulips-

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The next thing he knew, Ron's feet slammed into the ground and he nearly fell over. But instead he fell against the grate, and hurriedly stepped out before the flames could singe him. As he did, he looked around, wondering where he was.

As he noticed a goblin sitting in a corner table in the room, and a few hags scattered about, Ron unpleasantly realized that the grate the Floo Network had relocated him to was in the Hog's Head. Quickly he walked across the floor and out the front door of bar, cringing. The same sign with the picture of the pig's head still hung over the front door, and the building was still as decrepit as ever. He shuddered, but swiftly shrugged it off, and found High Street.

Ron was relieved to see that the small village was still very much the way he remembered it. He smiled as he passed Gladrags Wizardwear, Honeydukes', the Three Broomsticks. All the familiar places were still here, along with several new ones. Pitch Fever Quidditch Supplies was one - with several young children, their faces pressed to the window to admire the latest racing broom, which made him smirk.

Before he knew it, a sparkly sign with some very familiar words came into view, perched above a window with some very unusual-looking things hanging in it. The same words were inked across the glass: Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.

Ron barely had time to laugh before a second glance across the road caused a pang of nervousness to erupt in his stomach. The small store standing there had a floral pattern painted around the sill of the show window, as well as the shop door. The trim near the roof sported the same design, and in-between the two, large green letters had been swathed across the wall with a flourish, The Gardenia, and below that, in smaller letters: School Supply and Bookstore.

Unable to contain a smile, Ron crossed the street and stopped at the entrance to the shop, opening the door grandly and stepping inside. He looked around, surveying the store. The walls were absolutely covered with shelves of books - school textbooks, reference, fiction, in rows that never seemed to end. Tables filled with parchment, quills, and other supplies for sale were also crammed in every corner of the room. The shop was modestly filled, several groups of people flipping through books, looking through quills, chatting amicably.

Ron brushed past an aisle of spellbooks and how-to volumes before finding his way over the checkout desk, where he spotted Hermione. The mere sight of her caused his heart to beat just a little bit faster.

She hadn't noticed him yet; Hermione was leaning heavily over the counter, talking animatedly to a young girl, around nine or ten years old. She was holding a book between them, its bright illustrations dancing merrily across the front cover.

"...That one I know you'll adore. I did too, when I was younger. It's really lovely. It's all about a tiny little family, the Clocks, who live underneath the floors of an old cottage, where they borrow things from the humans for their home... postage stamps for paintings... and even thread spools for chairs!" Hermione beamed.

"Really?" The little girl said, her voice equally small. "Do the humans ever find them?"

"Oh, wait until you see! Little Arrietty, the Clock daughter, makes friends with a little boy who comes to live in the house..." Hermione's voice drifted off momentarily, as she finally saw Ron, who was still standing near the counter, watching. She grinned. "... But I don't want to spoil it for you! Read it and see for yourself!"

The little girl beamed back, and started to the door. "I will! Thanks, Hermione!"

"You're welcome, Emily! G'bye!" Hermione replied, waving as the girl joined the witch and wizard - obviously her parents - who were standing by the exit.

"Hi!" She greeted Ron, leaning across the counter to give him a quick kiss hello. "I'm glad to see you made it. I thought you might just sleep all day," she teased.

"Oh, ha ha," he replied, rolling his eyes amusedly. "Oh, hey - are Fred and George over at the shop? I passed by just a few moments ago. I was going to stop in, but I knew you were waiting for me."

Hermione looked puzzled. "No... don't you remember? They closed up last week to take a trip to Canada. There's some new novelty shop franchising over there, so they went to check out the competition. I reckon they'll be back in a few days, though."

"Oh... right..." Ron sighed. "Anyway... are you ready to go?"

Hermione gave her hair a tousle. "Well, truth be told, I wasn't expecting you this soon. I guess I'm kind of busy today," she said sheepishly, glancing around the shop. "Would you hate waiting just a little longer?"

He smiled. "It's no problem. I can bring something over from the tavern, if you can't get away."

"Oh, no, I'll be able to. Ginny said she would be able to come in for an hour or two. You and I can sneak off then," Hermione smirked.

Ron leaned against the counter. "Ginny's dropping in? I'd quite love to see her, actually."

"She said the same thing when I talked to her this morning!" Hermione replied, looking pleased. "When I told her you were coming to meet me for lunch, she said she'd have to get here early to say hello -" She cut herself off then, suddenly looking up towards the doorway. "- And you won't have to wait very long! Here she comes now, with Harry."

"Ron!"

He turned around quickly, and spotted his best friend right away, standing next to a woman who was packing quite a bit of pounds. She'd grown her red hair much longer now, and had it pulled back into a braid. But there was no mistaking that cheery face -

"Ginny!" He said happily, amazed at the sight of her. She'd grown into quite an impressive young woman. Before he could say anything else, she bounced forward and embraced him, though somewhat awkwardly because of her bulging abdomen.

She giggled at that. "Sorry. I've gotten huge, haven't I?"

Ron was speechless as he stared at her. "Y-you sure have!"

Hermione hopped out from behind the counter and stood next to her husband, smiling at Ginny. "I'd say you're about ready to pop, Gin! When is the kiddo due?"

"Oh, in another week or so," she said, sighing pleasantly, placing her hands on her stomach. "I think Harry and I are ready."

Ron glanced sideways at his best friend, who was wearing the same expression as Ginny. But when he noticed Ron's stare, Harry's expression promptly changed. Determined. Business-like. "Oh, yeah... Ron, I need to talk with you in private for a moment. It's really... important," he stressed.

Ron nodded, knowing what he meant. "Yeah, sure. But I was going to take Hermione over to the Three Broomsticks for lunch, though..." He looked over at her for a moment, questionably.

"Oh, go ahead!" She complied, nudging Ginny over to the counter. "Ginny and I will just chat until you get back."

"Okay," Ron agreed, then turned to follow Harry out of the shop. On his way out, though, he heard a snippet of what the two women were saying.

"So... have you told him about it yet?"

"Not yet, Gin... I'm still not sure how. Last night we were -"

But the shop door closed then, cutting off their voices, and he felt Harry elbow him in the side. "Hey, are you awake?"

"I'm fine," Ron replied, following his friend around to the back of the building. "So... what's the report? Did you... did you go to the Apothecary yesterday?"

Harry leaned against the wall of the store. "Yeah, I did," he replied, keeping his voice low. "I spoke to the Potions masters there; I kept things pretty discreet. You mentioned that it was the belladonna antidote that you'd been working with, when this whole snafu happened?"

"Yeah, it was."

"Well... when I talked to them... well, I don't know how troubling this is going to be, but..."

"Just tell me," Ron said simply. "What is it? Will it just wear off, like most of the potions do? Or what?"

Harry shook his head. "Not this time. Some of those mixtures are tricky. And especially when accidents like this happen, the results can sometimes be... irrevocable."

Ron's eyes widened. "Wh-what do you mean? I'm not going to be able to get back?"

"Wait, no, I didn't say that! Exactly..." The jet-haired man exclaimed. "It's just that..." He sighed, "...The process it'll take to reverse the effects won't be... easy." He looked up at his best friend. "See, I asked the head master at the Apothecary about what could happen if you put fluxweed into the belladonna antidote instead of knotgrass, and he basically confirmed what you told me, that one of the possible results, though rare, could be that you might slingshot yourself ahead through time."

"Well, if he knows that it could happen," Ron mused, "surely he must have some idea how to fix it."

"Well, he did," Harry replied. "But it's like I told you, it's not exactly easy. Some magic can only be reserved under the most precise conditions. And... the only way we'd be able to get you back where you belong..." Pause. "...is if we would be able to find some ten-year-old fluxweed."

The redhead was silent for several moments, pacing back and forth, as he attempted to sort out what his friend had told him. "So you mean... fluxweed from the same year I used it to get here?" He finally said.

Harry nodded. "Exactly. And that won't be very easy. It's the same thing as... like, fruits and vegetables. You can't possibly expect to go into a store and ask for carrots that old, or apples."

Ron stopped in his tracks and looked up at him. "So... what do we do?"

"Honestly?" Harry lowered his head, no longer meeting his friend in the eyes. "I don't know." Pause. "If we never find ten-year-old fluxweed, you'll be stuck here... permanently."

The redhead grabbed his friend by the shoulders, causing Harry to finally return his stare. "But there's one thing I don't understand. It's not as if I used fluxweed from the future to get to the future. Why do I need fluxweed from the past to get back to the past?"

Harry shook his head. "It doesn't matter. You see, that particular fluxweed was what got you here. That's why you need fluxweed from the same year to get you back." He paused, again, and sighed. "It's a pretty sticky situation."

"Yeah, no kidding," Ron replied, slumping against the wall. He felt defeated. As much as he was beginning to feel comfortable here, he knew that it was impossible to stay. After a few minutes of silence, he spoke again. "Well, we have a week to do something, haven't we? Hermione said I had this whole week off for my holidays. After that will be when we're really in hot water."

Harry ran a hand through his untidy hair. "I say you're right. We've got seven more days to try and find the fluxweed. And I'll tell you what I'll do," he stood up straight then, feeling a bit more confident now, "Since I finished my assignment in Iceland several days ago, I'm back at my desk at this Ministry all this week, wrapping up the paperwork, and so I'll be home. I'll have plenty of time, so I'll make a list of places to go, people to ask, anything I can think of to try and find the fluxweed you need. I'll leave no stone unturned, I promise."

"Well, wait," Ron proclaimed, his face creasing with concern. "Don't you want me to help? I don't want to have you do all of this, without me even lifting a finger. It wouldn't be right."

But Harry only smiled. "Trust me, it's all right. Ginny's expecting me to be away from home all week, but this is your time off. You've got a wife to attend to, after all. And speaking of which," He stepped around the corner of the building, bringing the street back into view, "she's expecting you to take her to lunch, isn't she?"

"Yeah, I nearly forgot!" Ron exclaimed, falling into step beside his friend as they made their way back to the front of the building. "I tell you, Harry, I'm starting to get used to it, but it's still feels so... weird." As they reached the street, he stopped him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You know what happened yesterday? She was talking to me about... about having children! I had no idea how to reply to that! I think I might've even upset her, but then... I don't know. She just acted as if nothing had happened."

Harry grinned to himself, and said to his friend, as he spotted Hermione coming out the front door of the shop and rushing over to them, "I guess some things just never change, then, do they?"

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To Be Continued...