Chapter Four - They Were Gone.
"Vela!" Hermione, or a much older looking Hermione, scolded, running forward and enveloping the tiny child in her arms. "You gave me a fright! How dare you leave the house in the middle of the night like that! Where's your brothers? And your sister?"
"Hermione, love, can we please just take them home and go?" asked a very impatient dark-haired man, leaning on the doorframe. "I'm in no mood to stay awake."
Hermione scowled. "Oh, shut it, Blaise."
She turned back to her niece. "Darling, are you alight? You didn't do anything drastic, did you? Where's Caelum? Aussie? Where on earth is Lyra!"
"'Mione?" Ginny asked breathlessly, standing up shakily, still holding a sleeping Caelum in her arms.
Hermione gasped. "Ginny," she said softly.
Ginny looked at Hermione confusedly, her eyes drifting up and down the brunette's body. "You look so much older and so much more … mature."
"You're alive," Hermione whispered.
"What?" asked a very perplexed Ginny.
Not giving her an answer, Hermione gave a squeal of joy and hugged Ginny from the front, squeezing Caelum in-between. "Oh, Merlin, I thought I'd never see you again."
"What are you talking about?" Ginny asked, snuggling her face into Hermione's cozy jumper.
Hermione pulled back and looked around the room. "Of you're here, then where's Malfoy?" she asked inquiringly.
Ginny's face turned into a pool of bewilderment. "Why would Malfoy be here?"
"Because he's our daddy," Vela stated, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Potter!" Draco sneered, lifting himself off the floor and staring at Harry with complete loathing in his eyes. "What are you doing in the Slytherin Common Room?"
"Uncle Harry!" squealed Australis, running over to the emerald-eyed man and climbing atop his body. She wrapped her arms around his neck and beamed. "You came!"
Harry snorted. "Of course I came. I was sent an owl from Dumbledore, telling me that my dear nieces and nephews were, yet again, traveling back in time."
Draco was flabbergasted. "You mean … this isn't their first time!"
"You should know, Malfoy," Harry said amusedly, "you're the one who encouraged them."
Draco gritted his teeth. "I'll give you thirty seconds to leave this room, along with those abominations, or I'll-"
"Or you'll what, Malfoy?" Harry snarled. "Kill me in front of your own children?"
"They are not my children, Potter," Draco spat fiercely.
Harry glowered. "Fine then. If you don't believe me, then follow us. We're heading to the headmaster's office. We'll reveal everything there."
"I'm not going anywhere," Draco stated arrogantly.
Harry shrugged and gently placed Australis on the ground. "Have it your way then."
Before Draco could react, Harry whipped out his wand and yelled, "Petrificous Totalus!"
Ginny stiffened.
"Ginny, are you ok?" Hermione asked tentatively. "You look as if you're not breathing?" Hermione's eyes widened. "You-You didn't know!"
Ginny swallowed hard and sat in her seat, Caelum now awakening. "Mummy!" he sighed.
Ginny peered down at him and let out a breath. He was such a beautiful baby. He had eyes the color of the moon and his face was round, but very aristocratic. He looked like a Prince's son, with his hair the shade of platinum white and his lips smiling. "Oh, darling," Ginny breathed, "who would have thought you were a Malfoy?"
"Are you mad, Mummy?" Vela asked fearfully, her brown eyes widening in front of Ginny. "I love you," she whimpered.
The tears fell from Ginny's eyes and onto Caelum's shirt. "Vela," Ginny cooed, "Mummy loves you, too."
Just at that very moment, the door opened suddenly, revealing two very adorable looking children and a very weary wizard, dragging in what looked like a human body. "I can't believe Malfoy would do this. He knows not to trifle with the past, present and future."
Ginny spun around and asked almost silently, "Harry? What are you doing?"
Harry took a good look at her, his green eyes almost being flooded by a wave of emotional tears. "Bringing in your husband," he said in a humor-filled tone.
Ginny laughed, but it sounded more of a choke, seeing as she was already crying. "The mood has surely lightened," she commented, ignoring the fact that a very stiff Draco was on the ground.
"Mummy," Australis asked hesitantly, "can I hug you?"
Ginny almost broke down into tears at the sight of her eldest daughter. She felt as if she was looking into a mirror. This child looked exactly like her when she was much younger. She was the spitting image of Ginny; from her fiery red hair to the freckles dotted on her face. But those eyes, Ginny noted, those eyes belong to Malfoy.
"Australis," Ginny whispered, disregarding all the stares she got from the room, "come over here. You, too, Lyra."
Australis and Lyra enthusiastically ran over to their mother, giggling as they jumped atop her, nearly crushing tiny Caelum. "Mummy, you look so pretty!" Australis stated, grabbing a lock of Ginny's hair and fiddling with it.
"Yes, Mummy," Lyra agreed, "you're always pretty!"
Ginny chuckled lightly. "Mummy may be pretty, but she can't carry all three of you at the same time."
Australis laughed babyishly and hopped off her mother, Lyra mimicking her actions. The twins sat on the floor, now staring at Draco's limp form. "Uncle Harry, can you free Dad? He looks … scary," said Lyra, who didn't take his eyes off his father.
"No!" Ginny yelled loudly.
"Mister Potter, I suggest you free Mister Malfoy of the hex," Professor Snape said smoothly, eying Harry with one eyebrow raised. "Your nephew did ask nicely for you to do so."
Giving Snape a nasty glare, Harry pointed his wand at Draco and opened his mouth.
"Harry, no!" Ginny shrieked.
Harry jumped at her voice and gazed at her. "Ginny, what's the matter?"
"Don't," Ginny said gently.
"Why not?" Blaise asked, yawning.
"Because this is all a big misunderstanding," Ginny stated. "I mean, look at this. My children have come into our present from theirs to do something that I do not wish to know of. Hermione's standing beside Blaise Zabini, who, may I add, called her 'love'. Draco Malfoy is frozen on the floor, unbeknownst to this entire charade."
Ginny sighed. "Just go back and take the children with you. They can't stay here and we can't fiddle with time any longer. What happens … happens. You can change the future, but I rather we not. I know you're future Harry, because you look so much older and your hair is longer than usual. You hate having your hair so long. But, that changed, didn't it? Things changed.
"I obviously fell in love with Malfoy, married him and had children. Or maybe he got me pregnant and I had to marry him, but that's-"
"Well," Hermione intervened, "you both fell in love during the time Ronald and I began dating. You've been together long before that. Then you two decided to get married, and when you did, you discovered you were pregnant with the twins and-"
"This is what I'm talking about!" yelled Ginny. "I don't want to know what happens! I don't want to know how I ended up being with Draco Malfoy or how I gave birth to my children! I want to experience this all, without knowing it will come. I want to be able to be surprised when I find out you and Ronald are together and I want to cry real tears when he proposes. I want to yell real pain when I give birth. I want things to come as they please. I don't want to know."
"But, Mummy," Lyra said quietly, "if you let things just come without knowing, then you would die."
Ginny breath caught in her throat. "What?"
Hermione, Harry and Blaise all looked to the floor. "That's why Draco sent them to come back into time, Ginny," Harry announced, "he obviously sent them to the wrong year, but the main reason he sent them, was so he could save you. Save you from doing something incredibly innocent and naïve."
"What are you talking about?"
"He wanted to save you from dying, Ginny."
"Dying?" Ginny croaked. "Dying … but …"
Harry stared long and hard at her. "While you and Malfoy were dating, you become close friends with Gregory Goyle. Throughout the years, he was a very close family friend, who was always there when needed."
Harry paused.
"You were suffocated. The Muggle way. And Gregory Goyle suffocated you."
Ginny's breath faltered once more as she trembled uncontrollably. "Go back into the future," she ordered, "go back and never come into the past ever again!"
Hermione made a move to comfort her.
"No! Stay away! I don't want you coming near me! Go back! Go back! Perform a memory charm on me! I don't care what you do! Just get this out of my head!" she shrieked. "Go back!"
Dumbledore, who remained silent for most of the session, waved his hand and bellowed, "Umcomi Delapartum Futora!"
A gust of wind blew across the office, swirling every sheet of paper out of place, causing hair to be thrash around wildly. Vela's yells and Australis' screams were heard through the commotion. Caelum was heard crying. But, soon, the noises became a distant sound, an echo.
Oddly enough, there weren't any shouts present in the room any longer.
They were gone.
I'm very sorry this took extremely long to update .. but, here you are.
As Always,
Fawning Over Cheese,
Chalk & Gatorade
