A/N: This plot bunny was inspired by watching the X-Men cartoon on YouTube and S'Tarken's Nightmares of Futures Past. This is a Time Travel ficlet, only it isn't Harry who goes back in time. Here's a look at the opening chapter of what could have been a pretty good fic.

Though many people haven't reviewed the previous chapter, I am quite pleased with the reactions to it thus far. This one, in my own opinion, isn't as good, but should be enjoyable enough. Do keep in mind this is one of my earlier works, so the writing style is significantly different from how I write now (which is the main reason I am having such a difficult time going back to writing The Legend of Potter and The Cost of War).

ANYHOW... Now on with the rest of the story...

Days of Futures Past

A/U, HBP-Compliant, Time Travel

Pairings: HG/NL

Chapter One: Hope
Chaos and destruction were rampant everywhere now-a-days.

Everything had been lost.

Deep in the ruins of what used to be London, a small resistance still resided. Twenty five years it had been, and each of the assembled members were hardly recognizable. Each were hardened warriors, scarred in many ways, both physically and mentally. They were currently residing in the basement of the ruin of their former headquarters... Someplace they figured Voldemort and his followers would not think to look for them.

They were usually referred to as The Order Remnant, or the Rebel Order, but members still liked to call themselves the Order of the Phoenix, or Potter's Army, as the majority of the current members were also part of Harry Potter's defense club, Dumbledore's Army, before Hogwarts had fallen. While they had called it 'Dumbledore's Army' there was no illusion as to who they were really fighting for. Even many years after his death he was still a beacon to which the remaining defenders of the light flocked to.

"I think I have finally found a way to defeat Voldemort and repair nearly all of the damage done by the Dark Lord and his followers," said a woman with bushy hair. She looked quite a bit older than her actual age. Her brown hair had lightened and was beginning to turn grey and she had a few lines of stress on her face.

"Defeating the Dark Lord is a near impossibility, you know damn well all hopes of that happening died out twenty five years ago," said a pompous, aristocratic man who, like the bushy haired woman, had started to grow old beyond his years. "Repairing the damage is even more impossible with so many of his followers out there. Even if we could kill... Or even defeat him, it would be impossible. Hermione, how can we hope to even rebuild a fraction of what once was."

"Let the woman speak Ernie!" snapped another young man. The innocense of his youth had been long lost. He had short, black, wavy hair and a hardened expression that dared the other man to give him a reason to show him why he was the most feared man on the side of the light. The eye patch over his right eye only made him look more intimidating.

"Thank you, Nev," said Hermione giving the second man a grateful smile. She would have never believed it if someone would have told her that Neville Longbottom, of all people, would be her entire support system. "Once we defeat the Dark Lord, the others will fall in line easily enough."

There was shouting all across the room, which were all silenced by a loud bang. "Sorry, 'Mione, but I think I speak for everyone when I ask how that is even possible? There aren't enough of us, even IF the Dark Lord is killed, that will stand up to the Death Eaters."

"The answer to that lies within the answer to another question, dearest Neville," she gave him a teasing smile and a quick wink. "Why did many people stop fighting? Why did they join Voldemort?"

"Because within the short span of about a year, we lost both key figureheads of the light, both Albus Dumbledore and Harry Potter," said an intelligent looking Asian woman. She too had lost much in the war as well as everyone she ever cared for, including two men who she thought she could have eventually loved.

"Correct," said Hermione.

"But how does that possibly solve anything?" asked Ernie, "Unless the ghosts of one of those men have comeback to life, there is no way either of them could possibly help us. Neither of them were miracle workers either. It would take hundreds of Harry Potters and Albus Dumbledores to repair all the damage that The Dark Lord has done!"

"But it would only take one of each to prevent it," said Hermione smugly.

"That's not possible, is it?" gasped the Asian woman.

"Harry once told me that with magic, anything was possible," said Hermione, "I didn't fully believe him or totally understand him, but if you just watched him and felt the way he used it, you couldn't help but feel the weight and truth in his words. Some of the things he was capable of doing just before he died, were incredible."

"Well, not all of us can just bend the rules of magic, now can we?" asked the pompous man.

"What rules? What laws?" asked Hermione challengingly. "Harry was incredibly brilliant, perhaps even more than Dumbledore and Tom Riddle could have ever hoped to have been. He could see things that others could or would not."

"What about you Hermione?" asked Neville.

"Nev, you of all people should know that there is more to a person than what's just on the surface," said Hermione, "I always studied, kept my nose in a book and memorized everything I could because that was the only thing I could do to not only be the best I could be, but to be better than everyone else. Ron also tried as hard as he could. But he didn't work nearly as hard as I did, nor did he have Harry's natural talent. But when it really mattered, he always came through for us. Harry, though, was scary sometimes... If he had applied himself as much as I did there would have been no stopping him."

"What do you mean? He worked just as hard as any of the rest of us. He didn't really do anything the rest of us couldn't do. He just got by on pure instinct and dumb luck," said Anthony Goldstein.

Hermione's eyes narrowed at her former classmate. "That had more to do with the mistakes of an old man, rather than Harry's actual ability. After his parents were killed, and his godfather imprisoned, Harry was sent to live with Muggle relatives of his mother. Lily Potter, from what we've heard of her, was very kind, always striving to help people whatever the problem, no matter who they were. Remus told me once that Harry's personality was a lot like hers had been. Petunia Dursley, however, was almost a mirror opposite of what her sister was. She spat on the memory of her dead sister and, with her husband and whale of a son, ritually abused him for years before he came to Hogwarts. He was told his parents died in a car crash, that James Potter was a good for nothing drunkard with no job, and that Lily Potter was a whore and it was because of their nefarious and lecherous ways that they had died and the Dursleys got stuck with Harry." Hermione glared at each of the people in the room before continuing. "He didn't know about being a wizard or about magic until Hagrid personally hand delivered his Hogwarts letter to him. Up until then, they had done EVERYTHING in their power to discourage him and stifle him as best they could. They thought they could smother and squash the magic out of him, that if they beat him enough they could keep him from becoming what they had always feared he'd become. A wizard, or in their eyes, a freak. Vernon would always call him that, or Boy, or any number of vulgar names to show superiority over Harry."

"Harry was raised to believe he was nothing but trash, that he wasn't anything special, that he didn't deserve to be loved," said Hermione, a tear escaping from her eye, "I remember after Dumbledore died what he told Ron and I when he broke up with Ginny..."

Flashback

"There's one more thing I should tell you guys..." said Harry hesitantly, he still had a tight grip on the fake horcrux. He turned back towards the lake, "I-I broke up with Ginny," said Harry as he stared out over the lake.

"B-but why, Harry? I thought you two were happy together?" asked Ron, he was looking at Harry as if his best mate had grown two heads.

Harry shook his head. "It's not that we weren't happy... It's just the opposite... Like I've been living someone else's life..." Harry became lost in thought. Both Ron and Hermione were about to say something more when he spoke again. "I-I don't want to think about might happen if I let myself love her like I want to... Like I've wanted to all year..."

"What do you mean Harry? It's not like neither Snape or Malfoy didn't know you two were dating. The whole school was practically talking about it," said Hermione.

"Bad things happen, 'Mione, to people who love me," said Harry turning towards his best friends, "They have this strange urge to try and protect me... And in the end, what does it matter? They die. If Ginny and I continue on, things would only get worse. Voldemort uses people. He's even used Ginny once already, and only because she was 'just' the sister of a friend. How much worse will it be if it Voldemort finds out that not only she cares for me, but that I love her?" Harry turned his back on them again. "Hermione, if you were right about anything, it was my saving people thing. I would fight everything and anyone that stood in my way to get to you guys and you two are 'just' my best friends. If I would go through hell and back just for my friends, how far would I go for a girlfriend, a lover, or even a wife? In the mean time, while I'm trying everything in my power to rescue her, what is she being put through, what sort of tortures is she suffering because I'm not strong enough, or fast enough..."

"Harry..." Hermione tried to be consoling by putting a hand on his shoulder, but Harry violently shrugged it away. His back was still to them and his head was down. Both Ron and Hermione moved to stand by him at either side and saw that his eyes were tightly closed. "Harry..." Hermione began softly again, only to be cut off by Harry.

"There ARE things worse than death. Love is one of them. It can be wondrous and exciting, but at the same time, it is easily manipulated and makes people do stupid things. She's too precious... Not just to me, but to others..." Harry was to the brink of breaking down. His resolve almost shattered. "I don't even know if I'll even defeat Voldemort, let alone survive this... That's why I broke up with her. Not because she doesn't deserve to have the person she wants, but because I'm not worth it. I can't... I won't be selfish enough to ask her to wait for me until after this is all over and then let us live happily ever after, only to have her find out I've gotten myself killed on a fool's errand."

"Harry, Ginny..." Ron started, but again Harry interrupted.

"Ginny, what? Can take care of herself!? Deserves to be happy!? What Ron? I already know all of this. However, I can't do that, not right now and possibly not ever. She deserves, no matter what, to be happy and live her life with whoever that is that makes her happy... I don't have that option anymore. That choice was taken from me not long after my first birthday."

"So what then?" asked Hermione, "You don't deserve to be happy, that you don't have any choice but to push Ginny away because you're afraid of what might happen? Is that what you're saying?"

"So what if I am?" said Harry, "Sometimes people have to choose between what's right and what is easy. I can't tell you which is which because neither one seems right and neither choice is exactly easy. But, we have to come face to face with reality and that reality is win or lose, I'm most likely going to be dead when this is all over and I'll be damned if ANYONE else besides Tom Riddle goes down with me."

End Flashback

Hermione was now openly crying. She hated remembering what it was like in those days. She noticed many of the others were too, even Neville, who in the passing years had become even colder and even more hardened than "Mad-Eye" Moody could ever hoped to have been, had a single silent tear running down his cheek. The Asian woman was sobbing even more than Hermione, but then again, she'd always been more emotional and had wanted to love Harry at one time. She never got another chance with him after she blew it the last time, and to hear about all he went through was heart breaking.

"Hermione... Is it... possible..." asked the emotional Asian woman. "Have you... really found a way to undo all of this?"

Hermione weakly smiled. "Yes Cho... I have..."

"Then when do we start?" asked Neville, "Because anything is better than this."

"We'll have to figure out the exact details of who and when before we do anything else," said Hermione taking charge, "After which, Cho, I'll need help with the calculations. In order for this to succeed we need as few mistakes as possible."

"So what is this person going to do as soon as they go back?" asked Cho.

"At the bare minimum, stop Harry from being killed. Without him, all is lost, but if possible, save as many others as they can: Dumbledore, Sirius, The Weasleys, Luna, Cedric, any and everyone else that can be saved," said Hermione.

"So when would be the ideal time to go back?" asked Hannah Abbot, who until that moment had been silent through out the who meeting.

"The ideal time would be sometime before most of us went to Hogwarts, so that we might be able to get Harry away from the Dursleys... But considering where we have to do this, the best time we can possibly hope for is right before Harry emerges from the Chamber of Secrets with Ginny Weasley, during our second year- just after he defeats Tom Riddle and the Basilisk- and before the third task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament during our fourth."

"That's odd timing..." noted Cho. "So I take it, whatever it is you've got planned is going to happen in the Chamber of Secrets?"

"Yes, and without Harry or Ginny, the only other Parselmouth is Voldemort and we can't expect him to keep the Basilisk from attacking us if we show up too early."

"Speaking of Weasleys... Fleur is late, and has anyone heard from Charlie or George since they went back to Bulgaria to check up on Viktor?" asked Neville. Before anyone could answer a buzzing sound stopped all conversation in the room and nearly every member of the Order Remnant was paralyzed in fear.

"The proximity wards!" gasped Cho.

Neville's gaze hardened. "Death Eaters... Damn it..." He was the first to spring into action, He flicked his right wrist and there was a loud snapping sound and his wand appeared in his hand. Like Peter Pettigrew, who was STILL at large, Neville's right hand was made of metal. His was made of, instead of silver, mithril. It also doubled as a wand holster. His wand handle had to be modified so it wouldn't be crushed in the grip of his metallic hand since it was much stronger than the original. "Hermione and Cho, get to Hogwarts, Michelle, Steven, Oliver and Hannah will serve as escorts. The rest of us will hold them off. Anthony and Daphne, I want you two to figure out what's happened to Charlie and George and then Fleur. Report directly to 'Mione at Hogwarts." Neville then turned to the three members who had just been inducted. "If this battle goes on longer than ten minutes, I want you three to follow Hermione's group to Hogwarts."

"What if he's sent one of those... things..." asked one of the older members. Recently, Voldemort had his followers researching ways to make creatures, perversions of magic, that were almost physically invincible, immune to most weaker types of magic, that were far stronger, faster and vicious than any normal human could ever hope to be. They were also, however, mindless and completely obedient to Voldemort. They served only two purposes, to kill and to serve the Dark Lord. Even his own Death Eaters were in danger when those things were cut loose.

"Then I hope you can either do a strong blasting curse or the Killing Curse, or else you're most likely going to die," answered Neville.

"Nev, do be careful..." said Hermione, her face filled with worry.

Neville smirked, "I'll come home, just get to Hogwarts so we can kill the bastard," he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before leading the others out into battle.